Riding on Sparks
by beautifulpurpleflame
Summary: Beast Boy's big mouth has gotten him in trouble and now he needs to win a bet or trade teams with Aqualad. In order to win he'll have to hitch a ride with a teammate who's cashing in her vacation time. Both are about to embark on a week long vacation neither will ever forget. BBxRae FRIENDSHIP
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 1

It wasn't the best smelling air, not by a long shot. He remembered the first time he'd entered the city and how the first aromatic wind had hit him and burned his nose. But he'd become used to it over time and now when he smelt the mix of pungent aromas rising from restaurants, the park, along the bay, and the unending traffic he felt at home. But today there was a different smell in the air near the tower. A familiar smell. A smell that gave him a funny turn and made him feel a little aggravated. The smell of…the ocean; of fish and seaweed and salt. Yes, there was only one person who had this signature musk. Aqualad.

Beast Boy watched as the young man he considered his rival, though the feeling wasn't mutual, hopped out of the sea and landed at the tower's doorstep. He shook a little water of his person then proceeded to enter the building, a small smile on his face. The changeling was sure the son of the sea was eager to see his comrades once again. It had been a few months since their last in-person meeting with the members of the Titans East so it seemed fair to say the Titans inside the tower were eager to see him again as well. This wasn't a meeting, however. He'd been called upon to fill in a vacant position on the team for the next week while Raven cashed in the vacation time she'd saved up that year.

The green shape shifter took off from his perch atop the roof and headed back inside, hoping to beat Aqualad to his friends. As the common room doors slide aside he was pleased to see that he had arrived first. He subtly cleared his throat and announced, "Guess who's here?"

"Right on time," Robin smiled. "Where's Raven?"

"She is in her room doing the packing," said Starfire. "Shall I get her?"

"Nah, I'm sure she knows he's here," Cyborg said from the couch, surfing through the channels.

"Yeah, kinda hard to miss that fishy smell," Beast Boy chuckled. "I could smell him when he was still a mile out."

"Beast Boy," said Robin, putting on his leader-tone, "I know I've been telling you this all week but let me say it again. Don't try to pick any fights with him, okay? While he's here he's an equal member of this team."

"Dude, relax," Beast Boy grinned. "Water boy isn't gonna get the better of me this time, I promise."

"I do not understand why you always do the bickering with friend Aqualad," said Starfire. "He does not seem to have any qualms with you so why must you start the fights?"

"I don't start fights," said Beast Boy, hopping up onto the counter to sit down. "He just rubs me the wrong way sometimes, that's all."

"Oh," she said then after a moment of thought asked, "Shall I show him the correct way to rub you?" Robin choked on his own spit and Cyborg forgot about the television and turned towards his friends completely. "I am good at doing the rubbing, am I not?"

Robin glared at Beast Boy and said through his teeth, "What is she talking about?"

"I honestly don't know," Beast Boy said quickly and rather confused. "I've never let her rub me."

"Yes you have," Starfire said innocently. "When you are in an unhappy mood you sit on my lap and let me rub you."

"What are you talking about, Star?" poor Beast Boy cried as Robin readied himself to pounce. "Dude, whatever she's referring to totally isn't what you think it is!"

"Wow, B and Star," Cyborg said more to himself than the others. "There's a match I've never considered."

"Cyborg!" Robin hissed.

"What? I'm just saying," Cyborg shrugged.

"Please, why is everyone upset?" Starfire asked, realizing something was causing everyone in the room to become on edge. "Have I said something wrong?"

"Star, what exactly do you mean when you say you…rub Beast Boy?" asked Robin, doing his best to remain calm.

"Oh it is quite lovely," she smiled. "I believe I receive as much pleasure as Beast Boy does when I do the rubbing of him."

"Gotta say, Star, your honesty is a beautiful thing," Cyborg smirked from the couch. He was quite happy that there wasn't anything good on television. This was a far better watch.

"You. Are. Dead!" Robin roared and lunged at the changeling.

"Starfire, why are you doing this to me?!" Beast Boy screeched as he jumped back and away from Robin. "Robin, dude, I swear to God, Buddha, and Silkie that I didn't do anything with Starfire!"

"I'm going to kill you!" Robin bellowed, chasing his teammate around the Common Room.

"Robin, what are you doing?!" Starfire cried out, thoroughly confused by her boyfriend's reaction. "Please do not attack Beast Boy! Why does my rubbing of him upset you?"

"Uh, Star, you're dating Robin," Cyborg explained. "You're not supposed to do any kind of rubbing with anyone other than him."

"But…Robin cannot become a cat," said Starfire. "And whenever I try to rub Robin's head he becomes quite aggravated at having to do the fixing of his hair."

It took a moment for what she had said to settle in his mind, but once it did Cyborg quickly took charge of the situation. "Hold up!" he called out and grabbed Beast Boy and Robin as they were about to pass him. "Starfire, are you saying that when you rub Beast Boy he's in his cat form?"

"Why yes, of course," she said then giggled. "It would be silly if he were not."

There was a collective sigh followed by Robin saying, "Star, you don't rub Beast Boy when he's a cat. You _pet_ him."

"There is a difference?" she asked.

"In this context, a big one," said Beast Boy, quite relieved that he was no longer on Robin's hit list.

The common room doors slide aside with a hiss and in walked their temporary team member, who they'd momentarily forgotten was on his way up while the whole 'rub' debacle was going on. "Afternoon, Titans," he said with a warm grin as he entered.

"Aqualad, great to see you," said Robin, holding out his hand. "How's the ocean?"

"Big, wet, and a little choppy close to shore," Aqualad said and shook the extended hand.

"Friend it is wonderful to see you!" Starfire smiled widely and crushed him in one of her hugs that lasted a little too long for Robin's taste.

"Hey, man, thanks again for filling in for Raven while she's gone," said Cyborg.

"No problem, I'm happy to do it," said Aqualad.

"I shall go make sure your room is properly prepared," Starfire clapped and flew off.

"And I'll go let Raven know she's officially free to leave," said Cyborg, following after Starfire.

"So who's filling in for you back on Titans East?" asked Beast Boy.

"Kid Flash was kind enough to fill in, though I think it has something more to do with the fact that we're currently hosting Jinx while she does her hero internship," Aqualad explained.

"Ah, that'd be why he turned us down," said Robin, thinking. "We reached out to him first, since he hasn't been designated to a team as of yet, but he declined stating that he wasn't going to be in the area. Guess now I know why."

"Wait a second, we could've had Kid Flash?" asked Beast Boy. "Aw man, that would've been a fun week."

"Sorry, you'll have to settle for me," Aqualad chuckled.

"Yeah, no kidding," Beast Boy grumbled under his breath and made his way to the couch, picking up where Cyborg had left off in the channel surfing.

"So where's Raven taking her vacation?" asked Aqualad

"She's going to a book signing in Civic City," said Robin. "Her favorite author is doing a one time U.S. visit so she doesn't want to miss it."

"That's gotta be the worst vacation destination ever," Beast Boy yawned.

"Anyway," Robin continued, glaring at the couch out of the corner of his mask, "she's also making some stops along the way to places she's always wanted to visit. Then she's flying back."

"So she's going on her own little cross country trip? Good for her," said Aqualad. "Who's her favorite author?"

"Some Russian chick," said Beast Boy. "Leave it to Raven to have a favorite book that's not even in English."

"She's _Romanian_," Robin corrected. "Her name's Melita Funar. She's written a series of fantasy novels that they recently translated into English. They've become so popular over here she's decided to release the last book in the series in both Romanian and English simultaneously. So because it's such a big event she's coming to do a signing."

"Wow, Raven knows Romanian?" asked Aqualad.

"Yeah that and a bunch of other languages no one's spoken in a hundred years," said Beast Boy. "Seriously, what's the point in being fluent in languages that no one speaks?"

"Romanian is still spoken today, Beast Boy," Robin sighed. "As is German and in some cases Latin. The other two I think she only knows for purposes of reading. And she was taught those languages growing up, she didn't choose to know them."

"Wow, she's quite the polyglot," said Aqualad.

"Pollywog?" said Beast Boy.

"Polyglot," said Robin, slowly so that his teammate could hear the word properly. "It means someone who can understand multiple languages."

"Raven's a pollywog," Beast Boy began to chuckle then flat out laugh. "That's too good. That's my new nickname for her. Pollywog!"

Robin rolled his eyes at Beast Boy's amusement but decided it was best to ignore him. "So, Aqualad, any good missions lately?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Aqualad shrugged. "Although I did save a four year old girl who nearly drowned in a city pool last week."

"Please, I rescued two kids who were drowning in the bay three days ago," Beast Boy added from the couch.

"I helped put out a fire that had consumed half of a retirement home," said Aqualad continued.

"Saved a whole high school from a fire in the chem lab," Beast Boy stretched nonchalantly, the channels ever changing.

"And last month a yacht ran aground off the coast and I helped get everyone back to the mainland," said Aqualad, his attention never leaving Robin.

"Cruise ship went down, got everyone back to shore all by myself," Beast Boy boasted. "On my back."

Robin's patience with the green teen's attitude had run its course and he knew he had to get out of there before he told his teammate off. He wasn't sure why but whenever Aqualad came around Beast Boy's usual lighthearted spirit became obstinate and sour. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go see if Starfire needs help." And with that he made his exit, his back tense with frustration towards the changeling.

Aqualad cleared his throat and went over to the couch. "So did you just say you rescued all of the passengers of a cruise ship on your back?"

"Yup, not that hard when you can turn into a blue whale, you know?" Beast Boy said, his eyes not leaving the screen. As he flipped through the channels he paused when he saw one of his favorite music videos being played.

"Ooh, Fiona Star," Aqualad approved. "Definitely my favorite female artist."

"Yeah, she's okay," said Beast Boy with a shrug. "Kind of a ditz, though." He was a rather large fan of hers, too. Well, large enough that he rarely missed an interview she'd given.

"Why do you say that?" asked Aqualad. "She seems pretty bright."

"Dude, she thinks Acapulco means to sing without any instruments," said Beast Boy. "When she said that I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. I mean, duh, even I know that's wrong."

"Well one little mistake doesn't mean she's unintelligent," said Aqualad.

"Oh yeah? She thinks that the light that looks like a hand at crosswalks means that that's where you get your palm read," said Beast Boy. "I kid you not. She almost got hit by a car once because of that."

"Wow, either you're a _really_ big fan or you know her personally," Aqualad chuckled.

Beast Boy opened his mouth to say that he was as normal a fan as any but that's when something in his brain clicked and he couldn't help himself. "Yeah, I know her."

"Really?" said Aqualad. "How do you know her?"

"Dude, she's one of my biggest fans," Beast Boy smirked.

"She's a fan of yours?" said Aqualad, his eyes filled with amusement. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope, me and her are like this," said Beast Boy, holding up two fingers that were crossed tightly.

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that," Aqualad chuckled.

"Believe what you want, dude," Beast Boy shrugged. "If you can't handle the fact that one of my biggest fans is a bona fide pop star then that's your problem. I'll probably call Fifi up later, that's my nickname for her by the way, and see what she's up to."

"Probably getting ready for that big concert she's performing in on Friday," said Aqualad. "You know, the one she's using to try to set a new world record?"

"You mean the concert that I'm totally invited to?" asked Beast Boy, proud of his acting skills.

"So you're going?" asked Aqualad.

"Going? Dude, I'm singing _Riding on Sparks_ with her," Beast Boy laughed. "She sent me backstage passes and tickets personally. Wish I'd known you were a fan. I could've hooked you up."

"Alright Beast Boy, enough," Aqualad smirked. "We both know that none of that is going to happen. But, wow, I've got to hand it to you. You're an amazing liar. If you weren't so over the top with the details I might have believed you. Quite the imagination you've got there."

"I'm not lying," said Beast Boy, knowing that one should never stray from a lie in motion. "But if that's what you've got to tell yourself in order to not get super jealous over my fan base then you keep telling yourself that."

"You honestly expect me to believe that not only are you close friends with Fiona Star but you're going to be singing with her at Friday's concert, which is taking place in Empire City?" said Aqualad. "A city that's 3,000 miles away from here?"

"Yup and it's gonna be epic," Beast Boy grinned, quite pleased with himself.

Aqualad could see that he wasn't going to get the changeling to admit anything so he decided to see how far he could push him. "Alright, Beast Boy, if you really are her friend and you really are going to be at that concert on Friday how about we make a wager?"

"Fine, but you're gonna lose," said Beast Boy coolly though on the inside his brain was telling him now would be a good time to shut up. "So what's the bet?"

"I bet that you aren't going to be at Fiona Star's concert on Friday and that you aren't going to be on stage singing with her," said Aqualad. "What would you like to wager?"

"Hmm…if I am at the concert and I do sing with her then you have to wear Starfire's uniform for a month," Beast Boy grinned. "What about you?"

"If you aren't at that concert Friday and aren't on stage singing with Fiona Star then I get your spot on this team," said Aqualad. "And you get my spot on Titans East. Permanently."

Beast Boy hadn't expected Aqualad to raise the stakes that high and now cursed himself and his big mouth. The Atlantian wasn't playing around anymore. But the changeling refused to let his rival get the better of him. He couldn't back out now, not after all of this. His ego and stubbornness wouldn't allow him to.

"Is it a deal?" asked Aqualad, holding his hand out.

He watched as his hand reached out and took hold of the other. And as the word, "Deal," left his lips he realized what a terrible thing he'd done.

He was going to have to leave his team.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 2

"You stupid, idiot!" Beast Boy screamed at himself as he beat the side of his bunk bed with a pillow. "You just couldn't shut up. You had to say all the crud about being besties with freaking Fiona Star and now you've gotta change teams!" His pillow exploded, sending tufts of cotton all over the room, and he finally sunk down onto his bottom bunk. He placed his face in his hands and let out a long frustrated sigh. "I'm really screwed, aren't I?"

He sat there for a while, running the entire scene over again in his head, and stewing in the misery he'd created for himself. But this only lasted a total of seven seconds.

He quickly jumped back up and exclaimed, "No! I'm not giving up. Titans don't give up. What's our motto? 'Win or die trying!'…wait a second, we don't have a motto. Do we? Argh, focus Beast Boy! You need to get yourself out of this mess." He proceeded to pace around the room, his mind racing. "Okay so I need to get across the country to Empire City, get into Fiona Star's concert, and somehow get on stage to sing _Riding on Sparks_ with her. Jeez, why couldn't I have just left it at being at the concert? Focus! First thing's first. I've got to get to Empire City. Well Robin definitely won't let me go so I'll have to sneak out. And there's no way I'd be able to get one of the T-ships out of here without being noticed and I don't have any money so I can't take a plane or a bus or even a taxi. I guess I could fly with my own wings but I don't think I could do 3,000 miles in a week. But I don't really have any other-"

There came a sudden knock on his door and he jumped with a squeak of surprise. He recomposed himself and opened the door to find Cyborg on the other side. He had an odd look on his face and Beast Boy knew he must've heard him through the door talking to himself.

"Uh, hi Cy," he smiled, doing his best to cover up the anxiety he had over his current situation. That's all he'd need is for Cyborg to find out that not only had he gotten himself into a bet that he had no hope of winning but it was over Fiona Star. Cyborg would never let him live it down. "What's up, dude?"

"Just wanted to let you know that Raven's about to leave," said Cyborg, the concerned look not leaving his eye. "You, uh, you okay?"

"Me? Oh yeah," Beast Boy lied, doing his best to brush off his friend's concern. "Just, um, being myself."

"…Okay. Well get your butt to the common room," said Cyborg, who obviously didn't want to push the issue. If Beast Boy didn't want to explain why he was talking to himself then that was fine with him. "Raven wants to go and you're holding her up."

"Me? How am I holding her up?" asked Beast Boy, who always seemed to be at fault whenever Raven was aggravated, whether he was guilty or not.

"She wants to say goodbye to everyone," Cyborg explained. "And you're included in that 'everyone', just so you know."

"Fine I'll be there in a sec," said Beast Boy, closing his bedroom door. He listened and once his friend was down the hall began to rant once again. "Ugh, I don't have time for this. Raven doesn't care if I say bye to her. It's probably Robin wanting to make the team look good in front of Aqualad. Besides, this is all her fault anyway. If she didn't have to go on her stupid vacation then Aqualad would never have come and I wouldn't have…wait a second." He paused as he felt that familiar epiphany spark rattle his brain. "Raven! She's going across the country! Oh, dude, this is perfect. I'll just hitch a ride with her!"

Yes, it was the solution he'd been hoping for. He'd turn into something very small, smuggle himself in her bag, and ride with her across the country. Once they reached the east coast he'd make his way to Empire City on his own and figure the rest out from there. Raven would never know and he'd be that much closer to winning the bet and staying on the Jump City team.

With a smile he left his room and hurried to the common room to pretend to say goodbye to his vacationing teammate. He found everyone was assembled and had been waiting for him. "Sorry about the wait."

"About time," said Raven flatly. "I was about to walk out the door so I don't miss my bus." She was in civilian clothes, so as to not draw unwanted attention to herself, and seemed in no way excited about her trip. But that was Raven for you. She threw a modest sized duffle bag over her shoulder and said, "Well I'll see you all in a week."

"Oh Raven I will miss you!" Starfire cried and wrapped her friend in a strong hug. "Please have a most glorious time."

"I'll try," Raven wheezed and managed to wriggle out of Starfire's arms.

"You don't have to check in with us but I'd appreciate it if you did every once in a while," said Robin.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Raven.

"You sure you don't want to take a T-ship?" asked Cyborg. "It's faster and more reliable than a bus schedule."

"As much as I appreciate the offer I'd rather spend my vacation not having to worry about taking care of one of your babies," said Raven. "I just want to sit back and let someone else worry about the vehicle and the driving."

"Make sure you get me something nice," said Beast Boy with a cheeky grin. "I like big souvenirs."

"That'll be the day," Raven said flatly. "Don't go near my room while I'm gone, got it?"

"Got it," he winked at her, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Have fun on your trip," Aqualad smiled, causing Raven's knees to go a little weak so that she had to catch herself and readjust the strap on her bag. "I know I'm not as skilled as you are but I promise I'll keep the city safe until your return."

"Oh, uh, thank you," Raven said, keeping her head low so that he couldn't see the blush painting her cheeks. Sometimes her body picked the worst moments to ignore her usual emotional control. She quickly made her way towards the door, calling out, "I'll be back Saturday."

"Bye!" the five Titans called to her.

Ten seconds after the doors closed behind her Beast Boy clapped his hands together and announced, "Well nature calls. Later!" And with that he ran out the same doors and proceeded to catch up to his leaving teammate, leaving the rest a bit confused. But then again it was Beast Boy.

He spotted her getting into the elevator that would take her down to the front door. He turned into a fly and zipped as quickly as he could to her. He managed to make it into the elevator before the doors closed and as soon as he landed on her duffle bag turned into a mite and crawled inside. Since Raven could feel emotions and the presence of another soul he knew that if he got himself down to a small enough size she wouldn't be able to sense him. Or if she did it would be so slight that she'd probably ignore the feeling. He made a nest for himself within the fibers of her clothing and congratulated himself on a job well done.

* * *

Raven stepped outside of the tower and took in a breath of the bay air. She quickly spat it out with a choke and rubbed her now itchy nose. She was so glad to be getting out of the city. True, she was heading to another city but for the next few days she was going to get to see more open areas and fresher air. She focused and in a matter of moments she'd gone from standing on the Titan's island to outside of the bus terminal within the city. Inside her bag, Beast Boy shivered as he usually did when subjected to one of Raven's dark energy teleportations. Ignoring the startled looks from the civilians standing about, she proceeded to the ticket counter where there was a line of eleven people already waiting. One by one they made their ticket purchase until finally it was her turn.

"H-Hello can I help you?" asked the woman behind her very high desk. She was obviously uncomfortable having to serve someone with such a threatening aura. The young woman before her was wearing dark clothes that covered up just about every bit of her, something people with dark deeds in mind often wore, and of the bit she could see it appeared this person was not in a friendly mood.

Raven paid the woman's nervousness no mind and handed her ID over, saying, "I have a reserved ticket waiting for me."

The woman took the card and the moment she saw that it was an official Titan state ID she relaxed. She typed the information into her computer and a moment later printed out a ticket. "Here you are, Raven, gate five. Have a nice trip."

"Thanks," the empath replied and proceeded to find gate five. She was a little perturbed that the woman had said her name aloud but no one else seemed to hear so she let it slide. She really didn't want anyone recognizing her. Whenever civilians saw her they always had one of two reactions: swarming her for an autograph and picture or, the more likely outcome, turning on their heels and walking in the opposite direction so as to avoid her.

She soon found her gate and took her place at the end of the line. While waiting, she could feel the hundreds of emotions from the people standing and passing by. She could also feel their stares and quickly put her hoodie to good use and slipped the cowl over her head. She focused her mind and did her best to let the emotions of others not faze her. But there was something…strange. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. An odd lingering presence that felt far away and yet right on top of her. Her remedy to this was to focus more and push it to the edges of her mind.

Ten minutes later her bus pulled in and soon she was settled in her seat and ready to embark upon the first leg of her journey. As she watched the bus terminal move behind her and the bus merged into the highway traffic she finally settled in. She was free. For the next week she could do as she pleased and not worry about saving lives or being sociable. She had her week planned out to the last detail, just the way she liked it. She hadn't had a proper vacation in…well she was pretty positive she'd never had a vacation. Whenever she got to leave the tower it had something to do with a mission. But not this time. This time she could just sit back, enjoy a few books, and watch the country slowly pass her by.

She reached in her bag and took out one of her books and a pen. But as she slid the book out she paused as an odd sensation tickled the outermost edge of her senses. What was this odd presence? It was almost as if a ghost was nesting in her bag; a soul that she could feel but could not see. But what really unnerved her was that it was a familiar presence. She knew this energy but there was so little of it she just couldn't place it. Once again she decided to not let it bother her. She took her book out, opened it up to where she'd left off, clicked her pen open, and began to read.

Beast Boy knew he couldn't be seen but, man, he'd be lying if he said he didn't think he'd just been found out. He could tell that she'd sensed something and had been trying to figure out what it was. He'd held his breath until she'd finally finished her task and took her attention off of the bag.

"Phew, that was close," he said to himself. "Well not really. It's not like she can actually see me. But, dude, I thought for sure I was caught. I've gotta stay out of sight at all cost. Oh crud, when am I gonna eat and go to the bathroom? I should've thought this through better."

Raven underlined a passage in her book but paused when she felt the slightest tingle of frustration from an outlying source. She subtly looked around the bus and tried to place the feeling but she could not. What in the world was going on? Where were these phantom feelings coming from? She looked down at her bag and though it was only very slight she could swear that was where these feelings were emanating from. Was her bag haunted? Possessed?

She grabbed her bag and shoved it under her seat. She took in a deep breath and said softly to herself, "Now isn't the time to get flustered by the unknown. You're off the clock so get used to being relaxed. Peace. Quiet. Tranquility." She took a moment to center herself then, with a new sense of peace, picked her book and pen back up.

The green stowaway also achieved a sense of peace now that he and the bag were out of Raven's sight. He decided the best thing to do to keep Raven from sensing him was to feel as little as possible. So he'd take a nap for as long as he could, hoping she'd forget about the odd presence she could sense.


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 3

The bus crept to a stop and Raven was surprised to see that the four hour drive was over. Now to pick up another ticket and transfer to the next bus. She grabbed her bag, shoved her book and pen inside, and exited the bus into the terminal. It wasn't exceptionally busy, unlike the bus station in Jump City, but there were a few dozen people wandering about with luggage or simple backpacks. She went to the nearest window and decided to have a quick look. She was very much out of the city now and in the midst of a flourishing town. Already a sense of relief had washed over her now that she away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

She went to the ticket window and prepared her ID once more. There was only one person ahead of her this time and once she reached the front of the line the man behind the desk seemed far less intimidated by her than the woman in the city had. She guessed that a bus station so far away from city rarely had to deal with villainous mischief and chaos. To him, she probably looked like nothing more than an expressive teenager trying to figure out who they were.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" he asked in a rather bored manner.

"I have a reserved ticket," she said, handing her ID to him. He punched in her information then clicked his tongue and shook his head. She didn't like that reaction and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Not on your end," he said, handing her the ID back as well as the freshly printed ticket. "But that's the line that's running late. One of the busses overheated early today so now all of the departures and arrivals have been put behind. I'm guessing it won't be here for another hour and a half. But once it does get here it'll pull into gate 3."

"Well an hour and a half isn't terrible," she said plainly. "At least it's not cancelled. I'm sure I can kill some time."

"Take a walk around the town," he suggested. "Out this door to the right there are restaurants and to the left are couple shops. When I need to kill time I head for the thrift shop, personally."

"Thanks for the suggestion," she said and after adjusting her bag in her shoulder headed for the door. She could sit and read but she had promised herself that while on this vacation of hers she'd explore the world around her. So off she went towards the thrift shop to see if she could find any old books that would interest her.

As she walked she felt the sun shining down on her and, knowing the people around here probably didn't care who she was, slipped her hood back and shook out her violet locks. It felt good to get some fresh air around her head. She then heard her communicator go off and quickly retrieved it from her pocket. She flipped it open and found Robin staring back at her. "Really? I'm gone four hours and you're already checking in on me?" she asked.

"Sorry, I know it's stupid to ask, but you wouldn't happen to have any idea as to where Beast Boy is, would you?" asked Robin.

"How would I?" she asked. "Last time I saw him he was in the common room with the rest of you waving me farewell. Why? He's not missing again, is he?"

"Unfortunately," said Robin with a frustrated sigh. "We just got back from stopping Dr. Light terrorizing a movie theater and he was a no show."

"Are you sure he isn't stuck somewhere?" she asked. "He might have gotten sucked down the air vent and gotten lost again."

At that same time, coming in the opposite direction, a beautiful customized hotrod lazily made its way down the road. The driver, none other than Ding Dong Daddy, was pleasantly enjoying a lollipop he may or may not have snatched from a toddler at a red light and humming along to one of his favorite tunes. He was returning from yet another cross state race, that he'd won thanks to his gremlin minions sabotaging the other competitors, and had taken a detour in order to stop by this particular town's antique store that was a treasure trove for vintage car parts.

He could see the shop up ahead but his attention was suddenly drawn to a young woman standing on the sidewalk with hair the color of lavender. He nearly drove off the road as he passed her by. He knew that girl. "Well look who Ding Dong Daddy's found. A Raven that's made her way too far from the nest." He felt a chill go down his spine as he remembered his last encounter with the Titans and his ultimate defeat that left him frozen for quite some time. He frowned and spat out the sucker. "Time for this hip cat to serve some revenge as cool as the other side of the pillow. And with no other Titans around this is made in the shade!" He swung the car around, just avoiding a collision with a minivan, and began pushing buttons and flipping switches on his dashboard. From the back a large machine arose and with a high pitched hum began to charge up.

"Even if he doesn't get along with Aqualad I doubt he'd run away because of him," said Raven, who'd grown bored with this conversation as soon as she'd found out it was about Beast Boy's whereabouts. "That would mean admitting defeat and we both know he's too stubborn to do that. I'm guessing he went out to have fun and the battery in his communicator is…"

She paused when the sound of tires screeching caught her attention. She watched as a hotrod drifted by her and she made eye contact with a laser pointed right at her person. Before she had time to move a bright light shot out of it and hit her dead on. She was knocked clear off her feet and fell into a row of shrubbery that sat in front of a dentist's office.

"Looks like Ding Dong Daddy set the neutralizer a little too high," the potbellied villain said, pushing buttons to retract the laser. "Just wanted to rattle your cage a bit and that's the word from the bird. You put Ding Dong Daddy in a square situation when you froze him with the other cats. But before that happened he got some unreal assistance and now he's rebuilt his neutralizer to tune out _all_ of your powers for far longer than a few hours. You're looking at days of being nothing but strays. I hope you enjoy your stay in nowheresville." He revved his engine, said, "Catch you on the flip side," and in a cloud of smoking rubber turned his car around yet again and sped off down the street.

Raven pulled herself out of the bushes and moaned. "Great. Just great."

Behind her she heard someone else groaning and thrashing about in the shrubbery. She jumped out and saw a disheveled Beast Boy tumble to the sidewalk, wearing her duffle bag like a shirt. She stared at him for a moment, trying to process what she was seeing, then realized there was a voice calling her name. Robin was having a fit on the other end of the communicator.

She quickly picked it up and said, "Yeah, I'm still here. I'm okay."

"What the heck just happened?!" he asked.

"Well it appears Ding Dong Daddy just got some sort of revenge on me," she said, picking bits of shrub out of her hair. She then turned and looked at the changeling who was still quite confused on the ground. "And you'll never believe who's here with me." She turned the communicator so that the camera recorded the image of Beast Boy trying to free himself from the duffle bag.

"You've got to be kidding me," Robin sighed. "What the heck is he doing there?"

"I don't know but I'm about to find out," she growled and closed her communicator.

Beast Boy managed to pull the duffle bag he'd completely destroyed off of himself and shook the twigs and bits of vegetation from his hair. He wasn't sure what had just happened. One moment he'd been nesting in the fibers of his teammate's clothes and the next he was back in his human form. He turned and saw a very unhappy Raven staring at him. Jig was up.

"Uh, heh, hi," he smiled lamely.

She crossed her arms. "Would you care to explain yourself?"

"N-No, not really," he said, which was the truth. He didn't want to tell her.

"Well you're going to," she frowned and reached her hand forward to manipulate her dark energy so as to grab him. Beast Boy winced and prepared to be snatched…but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw her looking at her hand, confused. She tried again but still there was no affect. "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" But still there was no change. She then frowned and groaned with realization. "Ding Dong Daddy's laser."

"What?" asked Beast Boy, thoroughly confused.

"He shot me with his neutralizing laser and said something about tuning out my powers," she said. "Guess I'm powerless for the time being. That probably goes for you too."

"Oh…that would explain why I changed back," he said, looking at the remains of the duffle bag. "Sorry about that."

"I don't care about the bag, I care about why you're here," she said crossly. "So start talking or I'll bury you under that bush."

Beast Boy looked at the shrubbery that was now quite mangled, and had Raven's clothes scattered about within it, and gulped. Even without her powers Raven knew how to take down a grown man. He began to think as quickly as he could, possibly the quickest he'd ever thought in his life. He couldn't tell her the real reason he was there or else she'd send him right back home. So what could he tell her that would allow him to stay with her on this trip? He thought and thought, his heart pounding in his chest as the seconds passed and Raven's eyes demanded an answer, and finally he blurted out the best thing he could think of.

"I wanted to go to the book signing in Civic City!" he said at last.

She blinked then replied with a confused, "Excuse me?"

"Uh, yeah, that book signing thing you're going to," he explained. "I actually really wanted to go but, um, knew that if I told everyone they'd just laugh at me cuz, you know, I don't usually read or anything. But I read those books you like so much and I'm totally a fan now! And this is the only time the author's ever gonna be in America and since you're taking your vacation this week that means there's no way I'd be able to go, too. So I stashed myself away in your bag so that I could go, too."

He watched as she looked him up and down for a very long and quiet minute. He hoped she'd believe it. He honestly couldn't even remember the author's name so if she asked him questions about the books he'd be royally screwed. But, he had to admit, it was a pretty good lie. He'd covered just about all of the bases. He often surprised himself with how quick he could think when his life was threatened.

She finally let out a sigh and said, "Unfortunately, since my powers have been subdued, I can't feel your emotions. Therefore I haven't the slightest idea whether you're lying or not."

"It's the truth, I swear," he said as convincingly as he could. "I know I probably should've just talked to Robin about getting time off but I knew he'd never let me go. You know how he is. And I honestly didn't want anyone to know that I'm such a big fan of…hers. It's not exactly a series for guys like me, right? You know that if Cyborg found out he'd never let me live it down."

She gently nodded at that, it did make sense, then said, "I can understand why you'd want to keep your appreciation for Melita Funar's writing a secret. I really would never guess that you'd enjoy her work." She thought then her brow creased and she gave him a suspicious look. "Just answer one thing for me."

"Okay," he said, his voice cracking.

"What language were the books first published in?" she asked.

Beast Boy's eyes went wide with panic for a moment but then he thought back to the conversation Robin had had with Aqualad only a few hours before. Sitting on the couch, he'd said the author was Russian and Robin had corrected him. "Romanian!" he said, proudly.

"That's…right." Raven was genuinely surprised that he'd answered the question correctly. She couldn't understand how he'd know something like that unless he was a fan. He never kept up to date with what she was reading, after all. "I guess you are a fan."

"Told ya," he said with his toothy grin. He then looked uncomfortable and asked, "So…what're you gonna do with me?"

She thought for a moment then took her communicator back out. She dialed Robin and he soon picked up. "So do we have any answers?" he asked.

"Beast Boy, in his infinite wisdom, decided to stow away in my bag in order to accompany me on my vacation," she explained. "He wants to go to one of my destinations and knew you wouldn't let him leave because of the shortage of Titans there would be in the city."

"So he just up and left without leaving so much as a note?" Robin fumed.

Beast Boy realized that he'd never thought about what would happen once his friends at the tower realized he was missing. "Uh, my bad," he said sheepishly.

"Anyway, I only discovered him because Ding Dong Daddy was passing by and shot us with his new and improved neutralizer," Raven continued. "This one has stripped us of our powers for the time being. I'm not sure for how long."

"Last time you and Starfire were hit with his flight neutralizer you couldn't fly for a few hours," Robin remembered.

"Well this time he said something about a few days," Raven replied.

"Wow, great start to your vacation," Robin said sarcastically. "Well buy Beast Boy a ticket home and I'll reimburse you when you later."

"Actually…I'm not going to send him home," said Raven.

Both Robin and Beast Boy were surprised by this.

"Come again?" asked Robin.

"Well he's going to be of no use to you guys," she explained. "His powers have been neutralized."

"Yeah but…do you really want _Beast Boy_ with you on your vacation?" asked Robin.

"I don't _want_ him with me but he's here and he wants to go to a destination I want to go to," she explained. "It'd probably better for me to have a travel buddy anyway since I no longer have my powers. Let's let him enjoy this week and then when we get back we can both punish him accordingly."

"Well…okay," said Robin, still unsure if he was really talking to Raven. He just couldn't fathom her wanting Beast Boy with her on her long awaited, meticulously planned out, vacation. "But if you get sick of him send him home. Beast Boy!"

"Y-Yeah?" he answered, looking into the communicator.

"Behave," Robin growled and pointed at him with a seriousness that rivaled his mentor and made the hair on the back of Beast Boy's neck stand on end.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 4

The thrift shop smelt musty and unclean. Apart from them, there was only an elderly woman and a boy that probably should have been in school looking around. Beast Boy was carrying Raven's items that he'd gathered up from under the shrubbery and she had a basket over her arm for what they were going to purchase.

"Do I really need to wear a sweatshirt?" he whined. "They're so big and bulky."

"I'd rather not get a lot of odd stares on my vacation so you need to cover up your green complexion," she said, throwing a dark brown hoodie into her basket. "You're going to wear a hat, too."

"Aw, that'll give me hat head," he pouted.

"You know, if not for me you'd be on a bus heading back home," she said, her voice even.

"Right, sorry," he apologized. "So…why didn't you send me home? I mean don't get me wrong, I'm super excited that I get to go with you to the book signing, but I don't understand why."

She was quiet for a moment, continuing to look through the racks of outdated, worn out clothing. Then, after pursing her lips for the slightest of moments, she said, "Because I know what it's like to be a fan of someone's work that no one else appreciates. I also know what it's like to have others say unfriendly things about your taste in literature. Trust me, I was going to send you straight back to Jump City on the next available bus. And then…you told me that you're a fan of Melita Funar. And, knowing how much I've wanted to go to this book signing, I can understand why you were so desperate to get there. I don't agree with how you went about it but I can understand it. That's why I decided to let you tag along."

"Oh," was all he could say, feeling a bit guilty about his lie.

"And, for the first time, we both have a common interest," she continued. "This may be our only chance to actually…bond over something."

He couldn't believe he'd actually heard her use the word 'bond'. Raven had never wanted to bond with him. She barely ever wanted to occupy the same room as him. But that really was because they were so different. They didn't dislike each other, not at all, they were just so completely different that it didn't make sense for them to be together. And now, from what Raven had heard and believed, they had a chance to make a connection. He looked at her and saw that, though she refused to face him, she looked ever so slightly demure. And he realized that she was happy, or rather pleased, to finally find some common ground with him. He felt the pain of guilt twist a small knot in the bottom of his stomach.

"Uh, yeah, I guess you're right," he said, pushing the knot in his gut aside. He then cleared his throat and said, "So, um, where are we going on our trip across the country?"

"I take it you weren't listening the other night when I told everyone my plans over pizza," she stated, not at all surprised. "Tomorrow we're going to a tea sanctuary. It's got nearly every type of tea leaf in the world and you can make your own personal blend and if it's never been made before they name it after you. The next day we're visiting the country's only fantasy specific bookstore. Not only does it promise to carry every fantasy classified novel in the world but also has a foreign language section as large as the English section. The day after that we'll be stopping by Madame LaMasque's Uniform Boutique. I have an appointment with Madame LaMasque herself to get fitted for a new outfit. And the day before we arrive in Civic City we'll be popping into an underground magic shop so that I can pick up some hard to find supplies."

"Wow sounds…interesting," he said with an unenthusiastic smile.

"Well this is _my_ vacation," she said. "You can wait at the bus station if you'd like when I go off to these places."

"Eh, I think I can find some way to have fun," he shrugged. "I mean, it doesn't sound awful. Hey do you think I can get a new uniform, too? I'm kinda growing out of this one."

"You have been wearing it since you were with the Doom Patrol," she agreed. "Unfortunately you have to book months in advance to get an appointment with Madame LaMasque but there's no harm in asking. I'm going to check out the books. I suggest you try to find something to occupy your time on this trip."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We're going to be riding a bus all day each day for five days," she explained. "And unless you can be kept busy with nothing more than silence and the passing scenery, you ought to find something to entertain you."

"Ah, gotcha," he said, understanding.

"I'll meet you at the checkout counter in ten minutes," she said, pointing to an old clock that hung on the wall. "The bus should be here in forty-five minutes and I still want to get some lunch."

"Yes! I'm starving," he cheered. "I hope they have some vegetarian friendly food here."

"I'm sure we can find you a salad somewhere," she sighed and they parted ways.

He looked all around for things that could keep him from getting bored out of his skull. He found an old CD player and a couple CDs he could bare to listen to. There was a kid's activity book and a small art set that had markers and crayons. And, just as his ten minutes was almost up, he spotted a treasure trove of old mediocre comic books.

After purchasing everything they needed, Beast Boy changed into a less conspicuous outfit, they packed their bags, and walked towards the nearest food establishment. They found a sandwich and soup shop that had vegetarian friendly items. Once they'd gotten their lunches they headed back to the bus station. Just as Raven bought another ticket the bus pulled in and they soon boarded and headed out.

"So how long is this ride gonna be?" asked Beast Boy, taking out his pesto avocado tomato sandwich.

"Just five hours," said Raven, carefully opening her cup of chowder.

"Five _straight_ hours?" he asked, bits of his sandwich falling from the corners of his mouth. "No bathroom breaks?"

"There's a bathroom at the back of the bus," she said, blowing on her spoonful. "You should've gone when I told you to before we got on."

"No kidding," he muttered and took another bite.

"If you start complaining I'm going to send you home at the next stop," she warned.

"Alright, alright, I'll shut up." And with that he stuffed half of his sandwich right down his gullet.

After they'd finished their lunch Raven opened her book up and Beast Boy took out his activity book. That kept his attention for a good eight minutes. After that he tried to get the CD player he'd bought to work but he soon learned why it was in the thrift shop in the first place. The slightest bump in the bus would cause the disk to skip to the point that it was maddening. So he took out his comic books next. He only managed to get halfway through one before he was so terribly bored by the content he had to put it away. Now he had nothing to do. And they were only twenty-two minutes into their five hour ride.

"Ugh! Why couldn't you have taken a plane?" he whined, shifting in his seat and trying to get comfortable.

"Because if I had done that I wouldn't be able to visit the other stops along the way," she said, not looking up from her book.

"Are you seriously going to read the entire ride?" he asked.

"Most likely," she replied.

He watched as she clicked her pen and wrote in the book, which surprised him. "Why are you writing in your book? I thought you liked it."

"I do like it, that's why I'm doing it."

"…Huh?"

She sighed then explained, "I underline parts I like or find interesting. I also make notes about my thoughts on what's happening. It helps me understand the story and understand the author's true meaning. I'm able to find the hidden analogies and metaphors with more ease."

"So when you like a book you take notes on it like you're gonna write a thesis on it later? Jeez, that's the problem with you smart people. You always have to look for hidden meanings in stories. Some guy will write story about a unicorn and a prince and you smarty-pants will say that it's a story about politics. Did you ever think that when an author writes a story about a unicorn and a prince they're _actually_ writing a story about a unicorn and a prince?"

"I didn't say I do it with all of the books I read," she clarified. "Just the ones I really like. The ones that, after I've read them, I can't get out of my mind. The ones that leave me with questions and wanting more. The only way for me to get more out of the story is to break it down and delve into it as far as I can, cover every aspect. I'm not saying I don't go overboard sometimes and make connections that may be more coincidental than the author intended, but it helps me to enjoy the book to its fullest."

"Oh," he said, with an understanding nod. "Okay, I get that. It's like when I really get into a comic book so I go online to read more info about it on Shmickapedia."

"…Yeah, it's like that," she said, not exactly sure what Shmickapedia was but glad that Beast Boy seemed to understand what she was saying on some level. "Actually, would you like to talk about the series? I'm curious to hear what you've taken away from it thus far."

The changeling felt his throat grow dry. "Uh, no, that's okay. You look like you're really into what you're doing and I wouldn't wanna stop you while you're on a roll. How about later?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "If there's one thing we have it's plenty of time." And with that she stuck her nose back in her book.

He'd gotten himself out of that one but only for a little while. He needed information on that book or his lie was going to run dry soon. But he didn't have any access to the internet. What he wouldn't give to have ten minutes on Shmickapedia. "Cool," he smiled, with relief. "It's a date, Pollywog."

Raven's nose lifted right back out of the book and she turned to him with an odd look. "Pollywog?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you!" he chuckled. "That's your new nickname."

"…Why?"

"Cuz Aqualad said you were a polly-something-or-other and I thought he said pollywog so now that's what I'm gonna call you," he smiled.

"Wait a second," she said, putting her book aside and turning right towards him. "What did Aqualad call me?"

"I'm not sure," he said, noticing how serious she'd suddenly gotten. He was a tad confused until he realized that they were talking about Aqualad. He felt his lips tighten slightly with anger. Of course Raven would care what he thought of her. She was not so slightly smitten with him, like any other girl who'd seen him. "Some word that starts with poly and means being able to talk a lot of languages."

"Oh, a polyglot," she said, a bit relieved. "That makes sense."

"What? Did you think he called you something mean?" he asked with a snide tone. "Scared Mr. Perfect might not like you?"

She frowned and turned back to her book. "Grow up."

The sun was beginning to set through the trees bordering the high way. They were two hours into their ride and had another three to go. Beast Boy had ripped pages from his activity book out and had entertained himself by making paper airplanes and footballs. The bus was littered with the folded paper but no one really seemed to mind. They were all on their laptops or mp3 players. The changeling was insanely jealous.

He was about to flick a paper football across the aisle that he spotted Raven's book resting in her lap, her head tilted and resting on her shoulder. He took a closer look and beneath her hood her eyes were closed and her lips were parted ever so slightly. She was sleeping. It seemed the trip, and the shock of him suddenly tagging along with her, had taken its toll on the empath. Her pen was still loosely clutched between her alabaster fingers but was slowly slipping as she fell deeper into sleep. He gently reached over and took the pen from her hand, he couldn't believe how cold her fingers where as his skin brushed hers, and managed to grab the book as well. She moved slightly, giving him a minor panic attack, but settled just as quickly. Now was his chance to give the book a look through.

The cover was simple, a midnight blue background with a lock of hair with a golden hue disintegrating and blowing away. It was entitled _Ashen Splendor: Vol. III_. He first read the back synopsis so that he could get some idea of what it was about. It was the third in the series, which meant he'd probably be confused, but it looked like your typical fantasy story to him. Forsaken enchantress trying to clear her name, evil hobgoblin putting curses on the peasants, a mystical medallion that could save humanity. Yup, pretty basic. He guessed it was going to be filled with large or ancient words he wouldn't know but he'd have to somehow get around that. He opened the book to the first page and began. He was lucky to have Raven's copy to read, as she was currently breaking the book down in the margins. He was also lucky that this happened to be her English edition. He read everything on the page, including her notes, and to his astonishment he was able to grasp what was going on. He managed to read an hour's worth of it, a personal best, before he drifted off into a sleep much like Raven's. As he slept the book silently slipped off his lap.

And wedged itself between the seat and the side of the bus.


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 5

The squeak of the breaks and the bus jutting to a stop was what woke the two out of their peaceful slumber. Both had stiff necks and felt a bit discombobulated, but were well rested nonetheless. It took a moment for them to remember where they were and what was going on. Raven ended up leading her groggy teammate off of the bus and around the congested station. She got them a taxi that took them to the motel they'd be staying in for the night.

It wasn't the most luxurious of motels but it wasn't rundown either. It seemed well kept, all of the signs were lit and the windows in the reception room were clean, and the people walking around seemed decent. They made their way to the front desk and Raven proceeded to get their room while Beast Boy tried to shake the after effects of his nap off.

"Hi, how can I help you?" asked a middle aged woman behind the desk.

"I have a reservation for a room," said Raven, handing her ID over.

"Okay just give me a moment," said the woman, typing one finger at a time. It was apparent she was intimidated by the technology but doing her best to put on a brave face. Finally she smiled and grabbed a key from behind her. "Alright, here you go. Your room number is 210 and you're all set!"

"Thanks," said Raven, taking the key and grabbing her bag.

"Uh, Raven," said Beast Boy, following her out, "You do realize you only got one room, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, uh, don't you think that's kind of a problem?"

"No."

"But if we only have one room that means…we're gonna…sh-share a bed? No, you'd never do that. So that must mean…oh no! You're not gonna make me sleep outside, are you? Look I'm sorry I was whining on the bus, okay? Please don't make me sleep out here. Without my powers I'm kinda feeling vulnerable. What if someone tries to mug me? Can't I just sleep on the floor? Or in the bathroom? I promise I won't peek at you when you're changing. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do. Uh, that's not to say that I think seeing you changing would be gross or anything. Not that I _want_ to see you changing. I just mean-"

"Beast Boy."

"Y-Yeah?"

Raven opened the door to their room and crossed her arms. He peeked inside and saw that the room had two single beds. Now he understood why she didn't change the arrangement she'd made previously with the motel. He felt rather foolish, not to mention embarrassed, for how he'd rambled on and said so many things that really didn't need to be said. They made their way inside and each claimed a bed.

"So how many busses are we taking tomorrow?" he asked, throwing his bag on his bed.

"Three," she replied, taking off her shoes and opening her bag. "In between the first and the second is when we're going to the tea sanctuary."

"Speaking of tea, I'm hungry," he announced, feeling his tummy growl impatiently.

"There isn't any room service here," she said, removing her hoodie. "I'm pretty sure I saw a convenience store next door. Here." She handed him her Titans charge card. "Try not to get too much junk. And get me some instant soup."

"How're you gonna cook instant soup?"

"There's a coffee pot in the lobby. I can boil water there."

"Cool, I never would've thought of that. Okay I'll be back before you can say Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Pollywog." And with a wink and a cheeky grin he was out the door, a pillow hitting where his head had just been.

He found the convenience store across the street and, after nearly getting hit by a car, made it inside. He began to look around the snacks that were being offered, looking for something that would fill him up. He loved junk food as much as the next guy but he wanted an actual meal. That bus ride was long and his sandwich hadn't kept him full long. He found a small section of real food and there was a frozen section of microwave meals. And, to his luck, there was a microwave in the store for the costumers to use.

He grabbed a few different things and went up to pay for them. "Hey dude." The man working gave him an odd look but began to ring up the food anyway.

"Uh…on your way to or from a party?" the man asked.

"No," Beast Boy replied, wondering why he was being asked such a question. "Why, do I look it?"

"Well you're covered in green skin pain so…" the man shrugged.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, um it's nothing," Beast Boy grinned, which showed off his fangs. The man cocked an eyebrow but didn't ask anything further.

After paying for his purchase the changeling used the microwave to cook half of the meals he'd bought. He hoped Raven would be impressed with what he'd managed to find and make. She wasn't easily impressed, especially with him, but if he could manage to not get a snide remark out of her he'd be happy.

After another close run in with a car as he crossed the street, he made it back to the motel. He grew a little scared when he forgot which room was theirs but finally Raven opened the door and waved him over.

"What took you?" she asked, locking the door behind him. "I could've said Azarath Metrion Zinthos enough times to achieve enlightenment in the time you were gone."

"I know it took a while but you're gonna be happy when you see what I've got," he said, putting the plastic bags down on the small table. "It was really good timing that you looked out here when you did. I couldn't find the room to save my life."

"That's why I looked out the door," she said. "That was actually the fourth time I'd looked outside for you. I thought you'd gotten lost on your way back."

"Well lucky for you I didn't. And I hope you're hungry cuz I made us an amazing meal you're not gonna believe was bought from and made in a convenience store." He began to take the food out of the bags and set it up. Within a minute the small table was covered with hot proper food. "Okay so we've got two cups of oriental flavored ramen soup, a small cheese pizza, French fries, and two slices of hot apple pie. Can you believe you can make all of that in the microwave? Oh, and I got some apples, a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jelly for breakfast and to make us snacks to bring on the bus tomorrow." He placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "So did I do a good job or what?"

Raven looked around the table. Beast Boy's pride began to melt away the longer it was silent. Finally she pulled one of the chairs out and said, "A very good job."

Hearing her say those four words made Beast Boy feel as though he'd just been praised by Batman. "R-Really?"

"It's hot, it's not entirely junk, and you even thought ahead to tomorrow," she said, carefully opening the box containing the rice. "I'm genuinely surprised. So, again, good job."

He was so happy he had to find something to do so that he could turn away from her and not let her see the large smile he was wearing. He'd never been so happy that her powers were on the fritz or he'd be mortified that she could feel how happy she'd made him. He got napkins and plastic utensils out of one of the bags and, after composing himself, turned back to her and placed it all on the table.

"So if the bus is leaving at eight tomorrow when do we have to get up?" he asked as he took a bite of rice.

"We're leaving at seven so I'm getting up at quarter of," she said and blew on her soup.

"But it's a ten minute ride to the station," he pointed out.

"True but we have to pick up my ticket and buy you one," she said. "And with how busy the station was last night I imagine it's going to be just as packed today. That means waiting in a long line. And if we're the first ones at the gate that means we get a better choice of seats on the bus."

"You know you can buy tickets online and print them out," he said. "I bet I could talk the woman at the front desk into letting me use the computer and print out our tickets for us."

"I don't think she'd let you do that," she said, slurping up her noodles as subtly as she could.

"I bet I could charm my way behind the desk," he smirked, more to himself than her. He did love a challenge. "And it doesn't hurt to try, right?"

"I suppose not," she shrugged. "And it would be nice to avoid picking up the tickets and dealing with…people."

"So do I have your blessing?" he asked with a crooked smile.

She gave him an unimpressed look then said a simple, "Sure."

After enjoying their convenience store dinner Raven gave Beast Boy the ticket information he'd need then popped in the shower, she needed one after the shrubbery incident earlier that day. He headed down to the lobby to see if he could get at the computer at the front desk. He wasn't just going to print out their tickets, he was going to visit Shmickapedia and find out as much as he could about Raven's favorite book series, Ashen Splendor. He was just thinking up ways to get on the woman's good side when he spotted someone else behind the desk. A man who looked to be quite busy on said computer. That just about dashed the changeling's hopes. But he'd ask all the same and see if the guy could do him a solid.

"Hey dude," he said with a smile as he approached the desk. "I don't suppose you'd do me a huge favor and let me use this computer."

"No," the man said without looking up from the monitor. Beast Boy's ears fell as did his hopes. "There's a communal computer over in the corner." He pointed, again not looking up. "It's a dollar for ten minutes."

"Cool," the green teen perked up. "Printer?"

"Ten cents a page," said the man.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy cheered. "Can you charge all of that to the room?"

"If you'd like," the man replied then sniffed indifferently. He reached around the desk, grabbed a card, then handed it to him. "Pop this card in and it'll monitor how long you use the computer and how many pages you print. Just remember to take it out and give it back to me when you're done. What room are you in?"

"210," Beast Boy smiled and took the card. He practically skipped over to the computer and sat himself right down. He popped the card in and the screen, that had been locked, was overridden and he was given access. He went to Shmickapedia and brought up the _Ashen Splendor_ page. He read through it as quickly as he could, he didn't want to charge too much to the room or Raven would become suspicious, and did his best to grasp the material. He was able to get through the bulk of the first two books and was certain he could at least hold a conversation about them. Knowing his time was running short he brought up the bus site. He found the route they wanted then proceeded to order another ticket and print them both out.

But he stopped.

And a terribly horribly brilliant idea emerged from his brain. It occurred to him that now that he was no longer stowing away in Raven's luggage he couldn't just part ways with her once they reached her destination. She'd ask questions. She'd find out the truth. So how was he to get to Empire City now? Well he'd just thought of a way. With a few clicks he changed busses, which would put them on a more direct route to Civic City rather than Empire.

"Raven's not gonna be happy when she finds out about this," he said to himself. "I'll have to come up with some excuse so she doesn't think it's my fault. But I've gotta get to Empire City. I'll have to make it up to her someday in the far _far_ future where we can look back on this and laugh. Well I'll laugh…if I'm still alive."

Though he was thinking positively it didn't help the guilt that had settled deep in his stomach. He hated doing this to Raven. She didn't deserve to have her vacation altered. But what other choice did he have? Concede to Aqualad and be transferred to the Titans East? He was sure Raven would give up one vacation in order to keep him…actually she probably wouldn't. Especially if she found out that Aqualad would be coming to live with her and the team. That thought made him terribly annoyed and made up his mind. With a click he purchased the tickets and printed them out.

He returned the card to the man behind the desk and headed back up to their room. Raven was brushing her wet hair and had changed into her pajamas. He'd never seen Raven in pajamas before and couldn't help chuckling to himself.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to tell her how there was a communal computer but paused. His quick mind instead said, "Great! The woman printed them out for me. She was a little confused but I talked her through it."

"Well that's good news," she said. "We'll leave at 7:30 then. I'll set the alarm for quarter past."

"Ugh, that's still so early," he sighed and grabbed his bag to get out some night clothes. He then realized that he hadn't bought anything at the thrift shop that was pajama-like. "Aw, man, what am I gonna wear to bed?"

"Just wear a tee-shirt and your boxers," she said plainly and turned down her bed.

"You expect me to walk around here in my underwear?" he asked, slightly shocked she, of all people, would suggest such a thing.

"No, I expect you to sleep in your underwear," she said. "Wear your pants until you go to sleep."

"Ah, gotcha," he said. "Wow, I gotta admit, you scared me for a second there."

"In what reality would I ever want to see you walking around in your underwear?" she asked flatly and climbed into her bed.

He frowned and turned away from her to take his shoes off. "Bet you wanna see Aqualad in his underwear."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 6

At a quarter past seven in the morning the alarm clock went off and by twenty of eight the two were at the bus station and standing at their gate. Beast Boy kept the tickets close, he didn't want to chance Raven seeing what their destination was, and did his best to stay awake. He almost had a panic attack when he saw the destination light up on the sign at the front of the bus, but luckily Raven was too busy people watching to notice. They successfully made it onto the bus, first, and chose ideal seats. And once they'd pulled out of the station and were on their way the changeling finally relaxed. No turning back now.

"Do you want a PB&J?" he asked as he took one out for himself.

"I'll have an apple," she replied and he gladly handed her one. "Are you going back to sleep?"

"After this sandwich, you bet," he said and took a large bite. "I'll probably sleep this whole ride. I've got nothing better to do."

"I'll jab you in the ribs if you start to snore."

"Thanks, Pollywog."

"Stop calling me that."

After finishing his sandwich Beast Boy did as he said and settled into his seat for a nice nap. Raven consumed her apple then grabbed her bag and proceeded to take her book out. But, to her shock and horror, it wasn't in the bag. She took all of her books out but the one she'd been writing notes on wasn't among them. She then dumped all of the contents of the bag out, onto her teammate no less, and came to the conclusion that her precious book was not there.

"Whoa, Raven, what's you're deal?" Beast Boy asked, digging himself out of the pile of clothes she'd emptied on him.

"I don't understand," she breathed, in shock. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"My book."

"Which book? You've got, like, seven of them with you."

"My third volume of _Ashen Splendor_! The book I was writing in yesterday. It's not here."

He felt his stomach drop. He remembered reading it on the bus the previous day just before he'd fallen asleep. But he didn't remember ever coming into contact with it after he woke up. He'd lost her book.

"I must have left it at the motel," she said, thinking aloud. "But I never took it out of my bag. Wait a second…I was reading yesterday and I fell asleep. It must have fallen off of my lap." She leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes, looking as though she was experiencing a terrible aching pain. "How could I have done that?"

The changeling had to bite his lip so hard he could feel the skin breaking. She was obviously devastated and it was his fault. But she thought it was her fault. And he couldn't tell her that it was his fault. So he had to just let her feel terrible lest he reveal the truth about the situation he was in.

"Oh man, Raven," his voice cracked, "that…sucks."

Her eyes closed tighter and she subtly shook her head back and forth, trying to will away the reality. "A year of dissecting that book piece by piece. Gone. How could I have been so careless?"

The shape shifter felt as though he were going to throw up. "D-Don't worry, we can get you another copy. You said we were going to a book store, right? We'll get you another one there and you can start writing notes about it again."

She took in a deep breath and slowly released it. She then sat up straight and opened her eyes. "It's alright. It's just a book." She grabbed her bag and began placing her belongings back into it. "Like you said, I can always get another. I'm sure I'll be able to remember most of my notes. And I'll possibly be able to dissect even deeper than I did the first time."

"Yeah, that's the spirit," he smiled, masking his guilt and unhappiness at making her so upset. "And you've still got those other books to work on."

She placed her bag under her seat and said, "I don't feel like reading at the moment. I'd rather just…think for a while." She placed her hood up, crossed her arms, and went into a stiff meditative state.

Beast Boy knew she was far more saddened than she was letting on if she didn't want to read. Reading was her favorite pastime. He thought of some way to make her feel better but nothing came to mind. Only telling her the truth and that was something he just couldn't bear to do. He wished she were a more normal girl. He knew how to cheer up those sorts of girls. But he knew of no way to please Raven other than shutting up. So that's what he did.

She stayed still and silent for over an hour, simply staring at the back of the seat ahead of her. The changeling did his best to take that nap he'd been planning on but the guilt rolling about in the pit of his stomach wouldn't allow him to even nod off. He tried to use his CD player again and did manage to keep it suspended in a fashion that kept it from skipping. He was just about halfway through the second CD he'd popped in when he saw her move from the corner of his eye. He discreetly watched as she took her bag out, picked out a book, and settled in to read. And that's how she stayed for the remainder of the ride.

Just as his legs were about to cramp the bus pulled into its destination. He was both relieved and nervous at the same time. He certainly was glad she didn't have her powers or he was sure half of the station would be pulled down with all of the stress she'd be experiencing that day. They exited the bus and began to make their way towards the street. They were scheduled to visit the tea sanctuary, after all. But just as they were about to walk out of the large entrance doors the empath stopped, eyes glued to the sign above the doors that read, _Hopestown Station_. Beast Boy knew she was piecing everything together and the anxiety made him feel nauseas. He certainly was putting his own body through an awful amount of stress, but then again this was his fault in the first place.

"Hopestown?" she read. "We're supposed to be at Eastpoint Station."

"What? How can that be?" he acted to the best of his ability. "We must be at Eastpoint Station."

She frowned and tugged at his wrist. "Come on." She walked, or rather marched, towards the nearest information desk. She approached so sharply the poor girl working actually jumped back for a moment. "What station is this?"

"H-Hopestown," the young woman replied.

"That wouldn't be another name for Eastpoint, would it?" Raven asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, I don't think so," the woman shook her head like a cornered child. "A-Are you at the wrong station, perhaps?"

Raven growled and turned away. "Unfortunately I think we are." She grabbed Beast Boy again and dragged him over to a large state map that hung right before the elevators. They looked it over and saw that they were a good two hundred miles off course. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Aw, dude, how did this happen?" he feigned confusion.

"I don't know, Beast Boy, how did it happen?" she turned to him. "You were the one who bought the tickets yesterday."

For a moment he was sure she'd figured him out but he quickly spat out the story he'd worked up the day before for this moment. "It must've been the woman at the front desk. She wouldn't let me use the computer but she let me tell her what to do. She must've chosen the wrong destination."

Her anger towards him faded and turned to general frustration. "I knew we should've just gotten up early and taken care of it ourselves in person. Come on, we've got to try and get back on course." She looked at the map for another minute then, seeming to have made up her mind, went to the ticket counter to buy the tickets that would send them back in the right direction.

They had a half hour wait for their bus so they sat at their gate. Raven was very tense and obviously upset. She'd had a rather unfortunate day thus far. Beast Boy felt terribly but decided to just push it deep down where he could no longer feel it. He went to get them some lunch from the small food court while Raven made a call home. When she asked for a hamburger he didn't put up any sort of fight. She deserved to eat what she pleased without him lecturing her after what he'd done.

"Hey Raven, how's everything going?" asked Robin through the communicator.

"Is that Raven? I wish to speak to her!" Starfire exclaimed from off screen then came into view, pushing Robin away. "Hello friend! I have been missing you. I was quite sad this morning when I got up and you were not meditating. Are you having a most enjoyable time?"

"Starfire," Raven's brow twitched. "Put Robin back on."

The alien's smile diminished and she quickly handed the communicator back to her boyfriend. That tone meant that she was in no mood for chitchat.

"Sorry about that," said Robin. "You don't sound very happy."

"I'm not."

"Uh oh. Things not going well?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Beast Boy's _that_ bad?"

"Surprisingly enough, Beast Boy has nothing to do with it. Well a little bit but not enough for him to take the blame."

"So what happened?"

"We accidently bought tickets for the wrong bus and have ended up two hundred miles off course. And, on top of that, I left the book I wanted Melita Funar to sign on the bus yesterday."

"Sounds like you're starting your vacation off on the wrong foot. Anything I can do?"

"I don't think so. I'll keep you updated. Hopefully things will get better, though I'm not getting my hopes up."

"Alright, well, good luck."

She closed her communicator and saw Beast Boy walking towards her with a bag of food. He sat down next to her and said, "So how're things going at home?"

"I didn't ask. I'm not really in the mood to talk."

"Gotcha." He handed her her order and took out his own. "Sorry your day isn't going too good."

"It's alright. I suppose it's just one of those days." She unwrapped her hamburger and took a big bite. She let out a sigh and settled into her seat. "I can't believe I've been reduced to eating my feelings."

"Hey, we all have days like this," he said, trying to comfort her. "There's a reason junk like this is called comfort food."

"That's a good point," she said and took another big bite. "Usually I meditate when I'm this stressed out but at the moment I think fried greasy food in large portions is going to be the best solution. Tonight, wherever we end up, we're eating a big bad-for-our-health dinner."

"Sounds like a good way to end a cruddy day," he agreed.

By the time they'd finished their lunch the bus had pulled in and they boarded. They nabbed the last two empty seats that were next to each other and got comfortable; they were in for a four hour drive. Once they were on the road Raven took out her itinerary and began to make adjustments.

"So much for the tea sanctuary," she sighed and crossed it off of her list. "It'll be a tight squeeze, but I think we'll be able to go to the bookstore tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to get another copy of my book there."

"Cool, I'll get a copy, too," he smiled.

"You haven't read it yet?" she asked.

"No, I just got through the first two," he said. Which was, in a way, the truth since he'd only read the synopsis of the first two books. "I'm dying to get my hands on the third."

"You should have told me. I would have let you read my copy, seeing as you've got nothing better to do on this trip and I have other books to entertain myself with."

"Yeah, heh, that would've been nice." He did his best to look genuine but this all only reminded him that he'd lost the book in the first place doing just that. "So, um, how about you tell me about it."

"I can't do that. You have to read it on your own." She folded up her itinerary and placed it back in her bag.

"But I don't wanna wait until tomorrow. Besides, I bet you could tell me all about it and explain it way better than I could ever understand just by reading it. It'll give us something to do. You know do that…bonding thing." He wasn't sure she'd take the bait but he hoped she would. He was sure talking about her favorite series would cheer her up a bit. He knew how excited he got whenever he got to talk to someone about his favorite television series. And no one ever talked to Raven about her books.

And, to his surprise and relief, she did light up a bit. "It would be nice to talk to you about something we both understand. But if I'm going to talk about it it's not going to be some short quick speech. And you have to pay attention. If you nod off or yawn or look bored in any way I'm stopping."

"Are you kidding? I get to have volume three of _Ashen Splendor_ told to me by someone who understands it probably better than the author? I'm gonna be hanging on every word!" He turned in his seat to look right at her, a big excited smile on his face. Now was time for some of the best acting of his life!

Raven pursed her lips to hide how happy she was to hear this and turned a bit so as to look at him as well. "Alright, well you know how volume two ended with the hobgoblins claiming to be the creators of the Solstice Emblem? The first chapter is all about how…"


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 7

The four hour bus ride flew by. Raven was three quarters of the way through explaining and breaking down the book when they pulled into the station. To Beast Boy's surprise she hadn't bored him to tears. He'd expected her to be critical and lecture him as though he were in a classroom. But when she began to tell the story that she'd fallen so deeply in love with he'd seen a side of her he was sure she didn't possess. She was animated, enthusiastic, and spoke with pure dedication. She explained each part carefully and would let him know when she was putting her two cents in. To see her so spirited about anything was refreshing and he wondered why it had taken him so long to see this side of her.

But not only was he drawn into her passionate telling of the tale he was actually entertained by the story itself. He had to admit, it was good. It wasn't some fantasy story written for ten year old girls. It was adventurous, thought provoking, and left you on the edge of your seat. When the bus stopped and it was time to get off he made a note in his head to actually go get these books after this adventure of theirs was over.

After a fifteen minute wait they boarded another bus that would hopefully get them back to where they should have been earlier that day. Beast Boy felt foolish for ever changing their destination in the first place, seeing as he was now no closer to Empire City. He should have thought of changing their path further on in their trip. But he couldn't take it back and now he'd have to think of something else.

"And it just ends there?!" he exclaimed as she wrapped up the story.

"I know," she agreed. "I couldn't believe it when I finished the last page. I don't think I've ever been so excited for the release of a book before."

"When's volume four coming out?" he asked eagerly.

"This weekend," she said then gave him an odd look. "That's why Melita Funar's doing the signing, remember?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! I was so, um, into your storytelling I forgot," he said with a nervous smile. That certainly was close. "You're one heck of a narrator, you know. That time between changing busses nearly killed me!"

"I'm glad you paid attention," she said, a bit pleased but doing her best to suppress it. "And I can't believe you actually asked questions. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were actually interested in this series."

"I told you I liked it," he smiled, his lie starting to turn into the truth. "Heck, I like it even more now that I've heard it from you. I'm totally seeing it in a new light." He watched as she smiled just ever so slightly and sunk into her hoodie. To see her so…bashful made him smile. He would never again see her as his creepy teammate. She did have feelings. She could smile. It was capable for the two of them to have a common ground. "You know what?" he playfully jabbed her arm with his elbow. "I'm kinda seeing you in a new light, too."

The shyness she'd been sitting in disappeared instantly and she rolled her eyes. "We were having a moment and once again you've-"

A loud bang erupted and the bus swerved with enough force to throw two people from their seats and into the aisle. The two braced themselves and nearly sprung into hero action but when the thought crossed their minds their powers did not waken. So they were as helpless as the rest of the passengers. The sound of metal shrieking and crunching filled the air as there came an impact from the right side and then the left. The bus jerked harshly and Raven felt gravity ripping her out of her seat. Beast Boy's quick reflexes sprang into action and he grabbed her, pulling her against him to weigh her down. The vehicle swerved all about before finally leaving the paved road and diving down into a forest that lined the highway. After about forty feet the commotion came to a stop and everything went still.

It was quiet for only a moment before there came a chorus of groans and cries. Beast Boy continued to hold Raven close, he seemed rather frozen with shock, and looked around at the mess. Both luggage and passengers were strewn about and there was an overwhelming smell of burnt rubber. He released his hold of her and the two looked at each other. They had the same thought at the same time. Both climbed out of their seats and went into action.

"Is everyone alright?" Raven asked while Beast Boy looked around for the nearest emergency window. She was met with many shouts and people saying they most certainly were not alright. "Everyone stay calm and everything will be fine."

"I've found an exit," said Beast Boy who helped a man out of the way of the window that was marked. Once the man was removed he grabbed the lever available and pulled until the window and a small section of the bus popped and was pushed aside. "Everyone stay put while I make sure it's safe outside." And with that he climbed out.

"Of course it's safe outside!" shouted a distressed woman. "A lot safer than being inside of this deathtrap."

"He's checking to make sure a fire hasn't started anywhere nearby and to look for unstable trees that could fall on us," said Raven. "We know what we're doing just trust us."

"Why should we trust you?" asked a man who was clutching his briefcase close.

She gave him a stern look and said, "Because we're Titans."

Once Beast Boy had checked the surrounding area and was sure it was safe he and Raven helped the passengers exit the bus. They did their best to address wounds and injuries, then sorted out the mixed up bags. As weary as the people were of these teenagers taking charge they soon surrendered their worries and gave them their trust. Though the two never displayed any superhuman powers the fact that they had taken charge and were calm throughout the situation made the people feel a bit safer.

After everyone had been checked and helped the two finally had a moment to sit down and decompress. They'd been so concerned about the passengers they never stopped to think if they themselves were alright. The changeling realized he had a scrape above his brow and Raven was rubbing what was sure to be a large bruise on her arm where he'd grabbed her.

"Jeez, that was scary," he said, taking a seat at the base of a still standing tree.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," she grumbled, sitting next to him. "Tonight we're having a deep fried dinner and staying at a hotel. A hotel with a large bath."

"I like the way you think," he said, rubbing his sore neck. He looked over and saw her gingerly touching a large red mark on her arm. "Is that from me? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'll have a decent bruise but if you hadn't done what you did I could've really gotten hurt. Thanks for that."

"Hey when there's trouble those Titan instincts can't help but go into action," he smiled but it quickly melted away. "Seriously, though, you okay?"

"I'm fine," she brushed him off. "Still suffering from mild shock now that it's all over, but fine. How about you?"

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just not use to going through something like that without my power is all. I can't imagine how scary life for normal people must be. I'd be scared just to go around the corner."

"Well let's hope nothing like this happens again while our powers are unavailable."

Within fifteen minutes the scene was flooded with police cruisers, fire engines, and ambulances. Everyone praised the two heroes and though they refused to talk to the news crews that showed up to document the event they did say they were affiliated with the Titans, but left it at that. And an hour and a half later another bus arrived to pick up the passengers, who hadn't been taken to the hospital, and drive them the remainder of the journey. Needless to say it was a very quiet trip and any slight movement of the bus caused everyone to grip their seats and pray the bus would stay on the road. And, by the grace of Azar, they made it to the station without further incident.

"I can't believe we made it," he said with relief as they entered the terminal. "How long until the next bus?"

"No more busses," she state firmly. "I've had my full of busses. We're going to the nearest hotel and tomorrow we're taking the train."

"That's the best news I've heard all day," he said. "Let's get a taxi and get the heck out of here."

"You read my mind," she agreed and off they went.

Getting a taxi was rather difficult now that Beast Boy's skin was no longer covered. After ten minutes of no luck she sent him back inside to buy a sweatshirt with the city's name on it. Once he was covered up a cab pulled over for them. That really angered the changeling and he was ready to go off at the driver but she calmed him down and told him to be reasonable. Who wouldn't be concerned about driving around a guy with green skin and hair? Especially when paired up with someone as dark as her? They asked for the nearest hotel and were soon standing in a very fancy lobby. They booked a room for the night and went up to it as quickly as they could.

"I'm taking a bath," she announced, throwing her bag without a care for where it landed. "You start ordering food. If it has the words 'fried', 'cheese', or 'chocolate' I want it in this room."

"You keep talking like that and I might put a ring on your finger, Pollywog," he smirked and grabbed the menu on the bedside table.

"Just shut up and do as you're told," she growled.

He read through the menu and ordered everything he was sure would please his very stressed out teammate. He certainly needed some pampering as well after their hectic day. He may have been responsible for the missing book and the change in their destination but he certainly had no part in the bus's tire blowing out. And he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still in shock from the whole ordeal.

By the time Raven had finished her bath the food had arrived. He quickly washed up then the two sat on their large beds in clean plush robes and ate until they felt sick. They had just finished and were about to nod off into a well-deserved nap when her communicator went off. She grabbed it and answered the call while lying down on her lovely soft bed.

"Yes, we're alive and, no, I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

"Well it's good to know you're alright," Aqualad chuckled.

She sat straight up and nearly dropped her communicator. "Aqualad? Uh, hi." Hearing his arch rival's name being said, Beast Boy sat up as well. "Sorry about that. Usually it's Robin that calls me."

"He's a little busy at the moment. There are a dozen different news channels calling the tower asking for information regarding the Titans that were involved in the bus accident earlier today."

"Yeah, we've had a really…unusual day," she said, unable to control the slight smile on her lips. The changeling frowned and rolled his eyes. He hated it how even Raven couldn't help swooning over the Atlantian.

"Apparently. I'm calling to make sure you guys are alright, which it seems you are. Must've been a scary experience."

"You have no idea. The fact that we don't have the use of our powers made it all the more unnerving."

"How's Beast Boy?"

Said green teen leapt at his teammate and grabbed the communicator from her. "Amazing, as usual. Wish we could talk more but we're kinda tired. Saving a bunch of people on a bus without any superpowers is exhausting, you know? Okay nice taking to you, bye!" And with that he closed the communicator and tossed it back to her. "Here."

"Well that was rude," she frowned, placing the device on the bedside table.

"I thought you weren't in the mood to talk," he said, crawling back to his bed.

"I'm not but that doesn't mean I'm going to be uncivilized. Besides, he was just making sure we were alright."

"Well now he knows. No sense in dragging the conversation out."

She let out a long breath of aggravation and relaxed into her bed once more. "Tomorrow we'll have to skip our visit to Madame LaMasque's Uniform Boutique to make up time."

"That sucks."

"Thus far this vacation is _not_ going the way I wanted it to. I haven't gotten to make any of the stops I wanted. If things keep going like this maybe we should just go home."

"No!" he sat straight up. The last thing he needed was for her to call off the trip. "We can't give up now! Not after all we've been through. If we travel nonstop tomorrow we'll be back on schedule and everything will be fine."

"We don't know that and the events following us seem to be getting worse and worse. At the rate we're going we'll be lucky to make it to Civic City alive."

"Come on, Raven, do you really wanna miss Melita Funar's one time meet and greet?"

"…No."

"Right! So let's just keep going. No matter what gets thrown at us we'll be able to make it through it. You know why? Cuz we're Titans! And what's our motto?"

"We don't have a motto."

"Well if we did it'd be something about not giving up and always working until we win."

"Unfortunately I think you're right." She let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine, we'll keep going. But if our lives are threatened once more we're turning around and going home."

"You got it, Pollywog."

"If you don't stop calling me that I'm going to make it very difficult for you to sit down the remainder of this trip."

"Come on, you know you're starting to like it."

"I can say with all certainty that I'm not."

"Don't worry, it'll grow on you."

"I'm not going to let that name live long enough to grow on me. Now stop being annoying and order another plate of chocolate covered strawberries."

"You've got it…Pollywog."

"Beast Boy!"


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 8

The next morning they took their time getting up and getting ready. Raven had a man at the information desk help her figure out the train schedule and once everything was sorted out they were on their way. The train station was very busy and she was in no mood to be polite. She made her way to the platform where their train would be arriving without a second thought for the people around her. This meant bumping into them, pushing them aside, stepping on their toes, and basically assaulting anything that got in her way. Beast Boy had the thought of telling her to relax but knew it would be detrimental to his health. So he kept quiet and followed after her.

When the train arrived they boarded and found a nice pair of seats with a table. They got comfortable and soon were back on their way to Civic City. This would be a seven hour ride and though it was going to be a very long time it was also going to cover a lot of ground. And once the scenery began to whizz by the empath finally let out a stiff breath and deflated into her seat.

"Please let today go better than yesterday," she said softly to herself like a prayer.

"Dude, I don't think it'd be possibly for things to go worse than they did yesterday," he chuckled.

"You say something like that again and you'll jinx us."

"So how come we didn't just take the train in the first place? I mean, we could've taken the train and still visited all those places you wanted to go to."

"I had a rather traumatic experience on a train not too long ago," she cringed.

"Really? When was that?" he asked curiously.

"When I was sent to babysit that kid trio during the Brotherhood of Evil mess."

"Ah, that's right. Yeah you don't really have good luck when it comes to traveling."

"No kidding." She opened her bag up and took two books out. She placed one in front of her and offered him the other. "Here."

He looked at it for a moment then unsurely took it from her. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Read it, obviously. I think you'll like it."

"What's it about?"

"You'll only find out once you start reading."

"Look, thanks, but I'm really not a big reader."

"You read the _Ashen Splendor_ series. And if you're able to get through those books you must be a big reader deep down. So give it a try." She watched him look at the book as though she'd just assigned him a school project. "I wouldn't give it to you if I didn't think you'd enjoy it. Just trust me, okay?"

"Fine," he sighed, still feeling as though he was being forced into it. Which he was, though it was more his own fault than hers. If he hadn't lied about reading her book series in the first place she wouldn't be forcing more literature on him. He read the short synopsis inside and, with very strong reservations, opened up to the first chapter.

It wasn't horrible, not in the least. There were a few words that were a little over his head but he managed to figure them out in the context of the paragraphs. It was rather wordy and he found his attention wandering more than once. But he actually did find it entertaining, though he couldn't help thinking over and over that he would rather watch it on a screen rather than in his head.

He made it through the first chapter, which was a good twenty-three pages, then set it down. "Okay, I need a break."

"What do you think?" she asked, not looking up.

"Good," he said with a nod. "It's definitely a guy book. I'm surprised you like stuff like this."

"Do you even know what my taste in literature is?"

"Fantasy?"

"That's a genre. Do you know what sort of story I enjoy?"

"Well…I guess I don't. But, to be fair, you've never said what you like."

"That's because no one's ever asked."

A beat passed as he realized how very true that statement was. No one had ever asked her what she liked or disliked when it came to personal things. Everyone just let her be to do her own thing. If anyone were to query her tastes it'd probably be Starfire and that would be a very frustrating conversation to get through, what with all of the explanations that would be needed so that the alien understood. So, for the most part, they left her alone and didn't try to get to know her. Because she'd never given any indication that she wanted to be understood; just accepted.

"Well…I'm asking now," he said at last. "What kind of stories do you like?"

She unconsciously ran the brim of her tongue across the center of her bottom lip. She then sat up a bit and finally turned to him, taking her gaze off the book. "Mostly I enjoy stories where the characters go on a journey, whether emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, etcetera. So I can enjoy a tragedy just as much as a romance or a story targeted towards men."

"Huh," he breathed, taking this in. "So I guess that means you read all sorts of stories."

"To put it mildly."

He thought a bit more then said, "You know, if you're really into characters on journeys I know of a really good videogame you'd probably like."

Her eyes went flat. "I highly doubt that."

"Come on, hear me out," he pushed. "I know you probably think all video games are about racing or shooting stuff up but there are hundreds out there that are really character driven."

"How do you know a phrase like that?"

"Videogame reviews I've read. Anyway, instead of reading the story as a book you get to actually take part in it. There is reading involved, sometimes way more than I can stomach, but the big parts you get to experience firsthand. There are all sorts of twists and turns and you get to make decisions as the character and it shapes the way the story goes. And, dude, some of them are really complex. There's one in particular called _Southwest Northwest_ that when it finished I was actually left in shock. I needed a couple days to come to terms with how the story ended. That's how crazy it was."

"But it's still a videogame and that means using those controllers and…knowing what you're doing."

He laughed. "You're not intimidated by the controllers, are you? They're not that hard to use. I'll teach you. In fact, we can play together."

She mulled this over for a moment but looked uncomfortable. She obviously didn't want to give it a go, not after she'd looked down on it for so long, but for some reason she couldn't flat out turn him down. He saw this and said, "Hey, if I can like books then you can like videogames, right?"

That seemed to do the trick and, after letting out an uncomfortable groan, she finally said, "Alright. When we get back I'll give this game of yours a go. But if I don't like it or if you make fun of me for my not knowing what I'm doing then I can quit."

"And you have to actually give it a try and not just think of some excuse to quit just cuz you're not perfect at it."

"I don't care about being perfect. I just don't like looking like a fool."

"I'm not gonna make you look like a fool, Pollywog."

Her lips went tight at the sound of her new nickname being said yet again. "How do you expect me to take you seriously when you can't even refrain from calling me that?"

"You just think it's ridiculous cuz you've never had a nickname before. It's a term of in-der-mint."

"I think you mean endearment. And I don't care if it is, just cut it out."

"So you're gonna give my videogame a go?"

"Yes, already. Just don't pick on me for it. I didn't tease you about reading so don't do it to me for trying out videogames.

"You got it," he smiled, a wide smile that displayed his fangs proudly. A smile he only used when he was very pleased.

The train moved along smoothly and swiftly. By hour four Raven was giving her eyes a rest and enjoying a cup of tea. She couldn't help but enjoy how much more civilized the train was compared to traveling by bus. Beast Boy managed to make it through the second chapter of the book Raven had lent him as well as half of the third. He was actually enjoying it, far more than he ever expected to like a book, and wondered if perhaps he'd been wrong all these years. Books weren't as terrible or boring as he'd always thought. They certainly weren't the same as watching a movie or playing a videogame, but he realized they weren't meant to be. Of course he'd never admit this to Raven. Not until she felt the same about videogames. He doubted that was going to happen so he'd take this new found admiration of literature to his grave.

When he felt his legs beginning to cramp he decided it was time to take a stretch and go for a walk. "Well," he said, standing up, "I'm gonna go take a look around. I'll be back."

"Don't get lost," she said, not turning her gaze from the large body of water they were passing by. It was as beautiful view.

"We're on a train! How could I get lost?"

"Don't get lost."

He rolled his eyes and headed off.

He made a stop at the dining cart and grabbed a muffin to snack on while he explored a bit. There were a few people, not too many though, mostly reading newspapers or on their laptops. The majority of them seemed to be of the business persuasion while the rest appeared to be traveling much like them. He knew he must've looked like a shady character, what with his mostly concealed appearance, so he did his best to seem cheerful and nonthreatening.

As he made his way from car to car he spotted a large map of the state. It showed various train routes and destinations with the route they were on highlighted. They were certainly going to cover a large chunk of land on this ride alone. And he noticed that right after the stop they were getting off at the route took a sharp turn and continued on…in the direction of Empire city.

He choked on his muffin as his brain twitched and came up with a very familiar plan. With some clever thinking he may be able to get them back on track towards his destination. But could he really do it again? If he were to manipulate their route she'd surely realize it was his doing this time. But…then again…he needed to get to Empire City. The days were running short and this was only the first step to winning the bet and keeping his spot on the team. Once he got to the city he had to somehow get into the concert, which meant sneaking in without the aid of his powers, and then getting on stage to sing with Fiona Star and not have security tackle him. He didn't even want to think about the humiliation he'd suffer if that were to happen; and on television nonetheless. So, in short, he needed to get to Empire City ASAP.

He found his way back to where Raven was and sat down across from her once again. She was looking through one of her novels that had already been written in. He found it hard to look at her, he hadn't even done anything yet and he already felt guilty, so he kept his eyes pointed out the window. He began to tap his finger on the table and shake his leg anxiously. Though her powers were subdued, Raven could see that something was bothering him.

"Are you alright?"

"W-What? Me? Oh yeah, sure, fine," he said with a squeak and cleared his throat. "Just, you know, tummy's not feeling very good."

"Carsickness?" she asked, grabbing her bag and opening it.

"I don't know, maybe," he said, wiping his sweating palms on his pants. "I think I'm a little homesick, too."

She pulled a small bottle out of her bag and poured out two pills. "Here, these should help."

"What are they?"

"They're for motion sickness. They should calm your uneasy stomach. I take them whenever we're on long trips."

"Why?"

"Because between long rides, new places, and all of the people surrounding me I often get too overwhelmed and become sick. My ability to block out emotions can only go so far. So take those and close your eyes for a bit." He nodded and took them, finishing off her tea for her. She wasn't pleased about that but he seemed so uncomfortable she decided to let it go. She was finished with it anyway.

The ride continued on and on. And the closer they came to their stop the sicker the changeling felt. How was he going to pull this off? The conductor always announced the stop as they approached it so she would know when it was time to go. He could excuse himself and try to figure out how to cause the speakers to malfunction, but he was sure they'd send someone around to announce the stops in person. He could try to distract her, get her talking about something she was passionate about, and hope she wouldn't notice them missing their stop.

But his prayers were answered six and a half hours into their seven hour ride. To his surprise, and relief, he watched her slowly but surely nod off in her seat. She'd fallen asleep! Now he just had to make sure she remained that way until they'd missed their stop. He worried that the overhead announcements might wake her up but when one was made and she didn't flinch he became a little more optimistic.

The last half hour was possibly the longest of Beast Boy's life. His heart was in his throat as the minutes slowly ticked by and their stop approached. And then it was announced. His eyes glued to his teammate's sleeping form as the train slowly came to a stop. A few people passed their table in order to exit but they did not move. He couldn't breathe. His tongue was dry and his fingers were dug into his thighs with fear and anticipation. And as he stared at her he wished repeatedly, "Please start moving. Please start moving."

And, with a slight jerk, the train pushed on forward.

Raven never stirred.


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 9

It was the pain in her neck that woke her. She groaned and sat up, trying to straighten out her stiff neck that felt permanently cricked. She blinked a few times, trying to gain her bearings, and saw across from her Beast Boy was fast asleep. She did her best to stretch her limbs in her seat, without drawing too much attention or being too obvious about having been asleep, and looked outside. It was oddly dark out and that concerned her. She had an unpleasant taste on her tongue and decided to go get something to drink.

She was less than graceful as she made her way to the dining car, her legs still being tired refused to cooperate, but she did make it and ordered a juice. It got rid of the odd taste and helped to wake her up. She finished it in two goes.

"You look like you really needed that," the woman working chuckled.

"I did," she said matter-of-factly.

"Just wake up from a nap?" the woman asked, still smiling.

"How did you know?"

"Well you've got sleep lines on your face. You must've been sleeping on the wrinkles of your hood."

Raven as quite mortified and rubbed at her cheek. "Yes, well, I was bound to fall asleep after such a long ride. Do you know how much longer it'll be until we get to Applewich?"

"Applewich? Uh…we passed Applewich an hour and a half ago," said the woman.

The empath stared at the woman for a solid minute before she finally blinked. Her brain attempted to process what she'd just been told but it didn't compute. This absolutely could not be true. She shook her head and took in a breath. "I'm sorry, we've passed Applewich?"

"Yes, quite a while ago."

"That can't be."

"It was announced on the overhead speaker before we stopped. You must've been asleep."

She stared at the woman for a few more seconds before finally succumbing to reality. She collapsed onto the bar and buried her head under her arms. "You've got to be kidding me. This can't be happening."

Beast Boy was starting to nod off. He wasn't actually sleeping when Raven had woken up, just pretending to give him an excuse. But he was really starting to drift off now. But his fatigue quickly disappeared when someone slammed their hands on the table. His sensitive ears stung and he sat straight up, quite startled.

"We slept through our stop," she said through her teeth.

"What?" he asked, partly scared which helped him appear surprised.

"We slept through our stop," she repeated and sat back down very roughly. "This is unbelievable. A seven hour ride and we both fall asleep right at the end just in time to miss our stop. This is insane!" She began to rub her temples and breathe in sharply through her nose. She was obviously at the end of her rope.

"Well…we can't be that far off," he offered. "We'll just grab a bus or another train and get right back on track." He couldn't believe what he was saying. He'd done this so that they wouldn't be on that track!

"I don't even think I want to," she said with an aggravated sigh. "This has got to be a sign. We're just not meant to make it to Civic City." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her seat. "It's time we called it quits."

"No, come on, it's not that bad," he said as positively as he could. "Just think how much sweeter it's gonna be when we finally get to meet the author of Ashen Splendor. Everything might be going wrong but I know that someday we'll laugh about all of this."

"I highly doubt I'll ever be able to laugh about this," she said, her voice dead. "This is just…a disaster."

He hated what he was doing to her. She was so unhappy. And she didn't deserve it. None of this was her fault. And once she found out the truth…he didn't want to think about that moment. Was this all really worth it? Was keeping his place on the team worth the possible loss of a friendship? Why couldn't he have kept his big mouth shut in front of Aqualad those few days ago?

"Hey," he said, reaching across the table and placing his hand on hers. "We've still got plenty of time. It's only Wednesday and the signing isn't until Friday. Don't give up yet, Pollywog. This is your vacation and you need to enjoy yourself no matter what."

She looked at his hand then took hers out from under it. "I don't see how I can enjoy this trip. Every single place I wanted to go to I've either missed or had to give up. I'm so worried something bad is going to happen I'm beginning to feel sick with anxiety. I would rather go home and feel safe than pursue this venture anymore. I can always save up and go to Romania someday and visit Melita Funar in her home country."

He was losing her. "No, we can still save this trip. I swear you can still enjoy yourself, despite all of these setbacks. We're so close it's stupid to just turn around now."

"Your optimism is starting to rival that of Starfire's. How can you possibly want to continue on after all we've been through? Are you having fun? Is all of this bad luck amusing to you?"

"Of course not. I just don't want bad luck to make a chump out of me. Just because everything's against you doesn't mean you give up. You bite your lip and keep going until you reach your goal!"

She gazed at him for a moment before her eyes began to shift with thoughts. "Do you really think this trip can be saved? That we can still have a good time despite the constant omens that we should go home?"

"Absolutely. We're just gonna hafta stop going by your schedule and go with the flow."

At that moment the train began to ease to a halt. They'd arrived at the next stop. He hopped up, grabbed his bag, and held his hand out to her. "Come on, let's get off this train and not look back."

She hesitated for a few seconds before grabbing her bag and taking his hand, allowing him to pull her out of her seat. They exited the train and went about figuring out where they were. They were certainly off course but nothing they couldn't make up before Friday. Heck, they were only a few hundred miles away from Civic City, and even less from Empire.

Worn out from the ride, and the stress of the trip, they decided to call it quits for the day and find someplace to stay for the night. It was a small town, the train station seemed to be at the epicenter, but they did manage to find a Bed and Breakfast. It wasn't busy so getting a room wasn't a problem. The problem was that all of the rooms had only one bed. But at this point neither was surprised. Like Beast Boy had suggested, it was time to just go with the flow.

"Well it's not a small bed," he said as they entered the room. It had a very homey feeling, seeing as the establishment had once been a large house, and there was a sense of comfort. "But I'll take the floor if it'll make you feel more comfortable."

"At this point I honestly don't care," she said, dropping her bag and removing her sweatshirt. "I need to lie down for a bit. My back's killing me from sitting all day."

"Hungry?"

"Starving."

"Me too. I'll go see what the food situation's like. If you need me I'll be asking questions at the front desk."

She gave him a sarcastic thumb's up and he exited the room. He made his way down to the first floor and back to the desk where the couple that had checked them in still sat, chatting. When they saw him they smiled warmly.

"Can we help you?"

"Yeah, when it comes to food you guys only serve breakfast, right?"

"That's correct."

"So would you happen to have any menus for delivery?"

"Sure do." The man reached under the desk and took out a large folder. "Got a little bit of everything around here."

"Awesome. So…you must see a lot of tourists around here. Are there any places that are fun to visit?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" the woman gushed and pulled out a stack of three overflowing binders. "Now what sort of fun are you into, young man?"

Raven sat up and moaned. Her neck was still stiff from her nap earlier and her back was still aching. She forced herself off of the comfortable bed and began to do some stretching exercises. After doing nothing but sitting for the last few days she needed to do something that kept her muscles in shape. She managed a half an hour of exercise before Beast Boy returned.

"What took you so long?" she asked. She wasn't sure who had entered, she was bent over backwards and was currently looking at an old radiator, but she assumed it was him.

"I was talking to the couple downstairs," he said with exasperation. He was caught off guard by her being bent backwards but he quickly realized he'd be in danger if he was quiet for too long. So he cleared his throat and pretended not to notice her. "They were really helpful but, dude, they would not shut up!" He threw the menus on the bed. "I know what I'm getting so here you go. I'm gonna call mine in."

"What're you getting?" she asked, rolling back up into a standing position.

"Chinese. Veggie lo mein and veggie fried rice."

"Chinese sounds good. I'll have what you're having."

"You sure? It's all veggie."

"I don't mind. Just order a large of each…and add an order of beef teriyaki."

"There's the meat loving Pollywog I know and love."

"Shut up."

It was a long half hour wait for their food and Raven had grown quite crabby by the time it arrived. They didn't have a place to eat so Beast Boy, quick thinker that he was, moved the bedside table for them to use. Once they'd filled their stomachs the tension in the air finally evaporated and they could relax. Both got comfortable in the bed and each grabbed a book to read for a while.

"I'm glad you're still reading the book," said Raven in a voice that was light and genuine. "I take it you're enjoying it?"

"More than I thought," he admitted. "But, to be honest, if there was a TV in here I'd probably be watching that instead."

"Well I'd think something was wrong with you if you chose a book over the television."

He snorted at that then it went quiet. "So…what's the plan for tomorrow?"

She shifted uncomfortably at having to think about continuing their journey. "I guess get on another train and try to get to Civic City on as straight a route as possible. Luckily it shouldn't take too long. And once we get there…I guess we'll just hang around."

"How about instead of leaving tomorrow early in the morning we leave at night?" he offered.

"You want us to actually stay here? For a whole day?"

"Well yeah. I mean, we've got plenty of time to get to the city. I was talking to the owners and they said that there's a train you can ride overnight, there's beds and everything, and it'll take us straight to Civic City. So why not take a day off from traveling and actually enjoy yourself on your vacation?"

"How am I supposed to enjoy myself in this tiny little town?"

"I've already got it all planned out," he smiled. "Just leave it to me and I promise that tomorrow you're gonna have an amazing day."

"I don't know. I'd rather get to the city as soon as we can."

"Come on, trust me. Isn't it about time you started to have fun? You do realize that most people relax on their vacations and not get even more stressed out than usual, right?"

"Of course I know that. I just can't imagine you managing to put together a day where I'd enjoy myself, that's all."

"Hence the need for you to trust me." He watched her chew the side of her cheek and really think about this. He knew she had good reason to be wary about putting her faith in him. And if she only knew how much he'd already deceived her she'd definitely refuse considering anything that came out of his mouth. But he was actually trying to do something nice for once and did need her to believe in him. "Come on, Pollywog, what've you got to lose at this point?"

The mention of her nickname snapped her out of her thoughts and she finally said, "Alright, fine, we'll stay here tomorrow and do whatever it is you think will entertain me. And, just so you know, if you don't stop calling me that I'm going to start calling you by a name you won't particularly like."

"Ha! I'd like to hear what you come up with," he laughed. "I'm best friends with Cyborg, the king of demeaning nicknames. Hit me with your best shot, Pollywog."

"Oh I intend to…Garfield."

Beast Boy's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. He hadn't expected her to use that against him. He hadn't heard anyone mention it in so long he'd almost forgotten that his teammates now knew his real name. "Oh come on that's not fair! That's not a nickname, it's my name name!"

"It's your nickname to me since I only refer to you by Beast Boy," she shrugged, a slight smugness in her lips. "And if you insist on calling me Pollywog then I'm going to call you Garfield from now on."

He opened his mouth to protest but realized she'd backed him into a corner. So he chose to pick up his book and pout into it instead.

One point for Raven.


	10. Chapter 10

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 10

Sharing the bed hadn't been awkward. Well, not terribly so. Beast Boy slept curled up, one way or another, and twitched in his sleep. Raven slept on her side and whenever she switched from one hip to the other she'd commandeer more and more of the blankets. Oddly this worked out fine. While she needed to be completely covered when she slept, he kicked the sheets and comforter off as soon as he drifted off. They rarely touched or crept onto the other's side. No matter which way one of them laid the other naturally compensated in their sleep. It was funny that the one area they were compatible in was sleeping…well not so much funny as interesting.

They woke up to breakfast in bed and were quite glad for it. Not having to worry about a meal for once was a relief and the fact that neither even had to leave the bed was even better. Raven was still a bit uncomfortable about them postponing their train ride for a day but if there was one thing she needed, desperately at this point, it was a good time.

"So what are we doing today?" she asked, pushing her plate away on her tray.

"Not telling," he smirked. "You're just gonna hafta go along for the ride. Now get dressed and be prepared for a day full of Raven-esque awesomeness!"

"This should be interesting," she breathed and slid out of the bed.

They dressed and after a quick phone call a taxi came to pick them up. It was a dreary day, which Raven actually enjoyed, and luckily worked in Beast Boy's favor. The ride to their destination was quick, it was a small town after all, and upon arriving she seemed less than impressed. From what she could see it appeared to be an old barn settled in the back of overgrown flora and old forgotten statues. There were chickens and ducks roaming the ground as well as one goat that seemed very lost. A sign on the barn read _23 Acres_.

"…You brought me to a farm," she stated.

"Yeah Raven, I, Beast Boy, brought you to a farm," he rolled his eyes and opened the taxi door to exit. To be honest he wasn't sure if it was a farm or not. All he knew about it was what the couple at the B and B had told him the night before.

She begrudgingly followed after him and the two hurried through the greenery, she nearly tripped over a chicken on the way, and made it to the barn. He opened the door for her and upon entering they discovered a cozy and dry establishment. It hardly looked like a barn at all on the inside. There were shelves of books, shelves of jars full of herbs, shelves of handmade goods of all sorts, and shelves with baskets of glittering stones and gems. The air was full of various spices and the sound of a violin concerto being overwhelmed by the rain falling high above on the roof. There were large plush chairs, proper tables for two, and even two hammocks hanging in snug corners.

"Whoa," was all Raven could verbalize once she found her voice.

"Cool," Beast Boy added, glad it was just as great as it had been described to him. "Raven, this is_ 23 Acres_. Also known by the locals as _The Tea Barn_."

He moved forward and, after taking a moment to shake the awe off of herself, she followed. They looked over the books and the jars full of tea leaves and herbs. Though Raven was quiet it was clear she was overstimulated with her surroundings. She couldn't read the book titles fast enough and before she knew it she'd grabbed five from off the shelves. She went through nearly every jar of tea leaves, taking the covers off and inhaling the scents deeply. Beast Boy wasn't sure he'd ever seen her so…excited before. The only other time he'd seen her this enthralled in anything it was when she was explaining one of her books to him. She was obviously elated but doing everything in her power to keep it inside of her. She pursed her lips, the muscles in her cheeks twitched, her eyebrows were subtly dancing about. And to see her this happy gave him a warm feeling of satisfaction.

"Are these for sale or is this like a library?" she asked him, her arms full. Her voice was shaking, trying to stay composed yet failing due to her bliss.

"Let's go ask," he said, grabbing the jars from her so that they didn't fumble out of her arms.

It took a bit of looking around before they found a large desk with a cash register and a woman sitting behind it. She was doing a watercolor painting of her view out of the window behind her but they assumed she was working. Raven gently placed the books down on the counter but the woman didn't notice their presence at all. So Beast Boy took it upon himself to put the jars of tea down harshly so that they clinked together. The woman jumped and spun around towards them.

"Oh hi," she said, placing her brush down. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, we're not from the area so I was wondering what the deal with the books was," said Raven. "Are they here to be read or can they be purchased? Same with the tea."

"Well the books are not for sale but the tea is," said the woman, wiping her stained hands on her hand sewn dress. "We can even brew you a cup right now if you'd like."

"Please," Raven's voice cracked. The changeling had to force himself to cough to cover up the sound of his laughing.

The woman brought out a tea press and plugged in her electric kettle. "We never get many tourists here. It's a little hideaway for the locals. How did you hear about us?"

"We're staying at the _Sunnyhill Bed and Breakfast_," said Beast Boy. "I asked where the best place to go if you liked to read and have tea and they said this was the best place in the country."

"I'm inclined to agree with them," said Raven, who was practically drunk with euphoria.

"Well thank you," the woman smiled. "I hope you enjoy yourselves. If you don't mind the rain feel free to walk the grounds. But if you'd rather stay dry then find a place to curl up and enjoy one of our books."

"I intend to," said Raven.

"So is this place also a farm?" asked Beast Boy.

"I suppose you could call it that," the woman said while thinking. "We have a small menagerie of animals that are free to wander the grounds."

"But you don't raise them for…dinner, right?" he asked.

"Oh no no," the woman shook her head. "Apart from chicken eggs and goat's milk, we don't harvest our animals."

"Phew," Beast Boy breathed with relief. "I was kinda worried about that."

"He's a vegetarian," Raven stated.

"Oh really? Well then can I interest you in one of our vegan desserts?" asked the woman, pushing forward a basket full of cookies, muffins, and other baked goods. "Made fresh daily by a local couple."

"Sweet!" Beast Boy smiled and looked over the basket of pastries.

"Why can't we have a place like this back home?" Raven asked, looking through the assortment as well. "Though it's probably a good thing or else I'd end up living there."

"Where are you two from?" asked the woman.

"Jump City," said Beast Boy as he picked a third dessert out of the basket for himself.

"We're on a cross country trip on our way to Civic City," Raven explained.

"Oh…are you touring with a…theater company?" the woman asked, obviously curious about their appearances.

"Nope, just on vacation," said Beast Boy. "This handsome shade of green is a way of life."

"So…you choose to paint yourself green because…you like looking that way?" the woman asked, confused.

"Unfortunately I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter," said Beast Boy, who wasn't comfortable talking about his odd skin tone but was also pretty open about it. "And it's not paint, it's the real color of my skin."

"Really? It's not makeup?" she asked and reached over to wipe a finger down his cheek. She looked at it and saw that no green came off. "Well that's a first. I've seen a lot of things around here but a green little boy is new!"

"Little boy?" Beast Boy peeped and it was Raven's turn to pretend to cough to cover up her chuckling.

"And you? Is your hair natural?" asked the woman, reaching over to feel Raven's hair.

The empath quickly dodged out of the way of the hand and said, "Yes and you can take my word on it."

"You two say you're from Jump City but are you originally from…here?" she asked. "You know…from Earth?"

Beast Boy began to laugh a hard laugh. "Are you seriously asking us if we're aliens?"

Raven slapped him hard in the shoulder. "If you were in her position you'd ask the same thing," she scolded. She then turned to the woman. "We're not aliens but let's just say the less you ask about us the better. We're kind of trying not to draw crowds."

The woman decided she was probably right and asked no further questions.

Once her cup of tea had been made Raven quickly found a nook to hide away in and began to delve into one of the books she'd nabbed. Beast Boy got some tea as well, a light blend with a lot of honey, and took a seat across from her. There were three other people curled up in the barn and each looked as wholesome as the jars of tea. Though she often stuck out like a sore thumb, and he was one to talk, for once Raven looked as though she belonged.

After he finished his tea he wandered about while his teammate continued to read. He made his way over to a wall full of small baskets with stones and crystals. There were signs explaining the significance of each stone and how it can be used for healing purposes or promote good energy. He found the idea a bit amusing but he couldn't quite write it off; not after all he'd seen in his life. He spent many minutes reading posters and handling the crystals before he came across a very beautiful stone. It was black but speckled with gray colored markings that looked painted in they were so perfect. They looked like snowflakes! And this was quite fitting, seeing as the stone was called a snowflake obsidian gemstone. He read the card describing it and knew he had to have it. He had Raven's charge card, she'd let him have it temporarily since he was in charge that day, and quickly went to the register to purchase it before she looked up from her book.

Four hours went by and finally Raven decided she'd had her fill of the Tea Barn. The changeling had fallen asleep in a hammock and was starting to snore rather loudly. She put the books she'd selected back in their respective places then woke him up. The two called for a taxi but Raven learned that that wasn't the end of their day.

"No, really, I'm all set," said Raven as they drove to their next destination that Beast Boy hadn't revealed to her. "I don't need to do anything else today."

"The day's only half over! We're not gonna sit back at the B n' B for the rest of the day," he said.

"I just don't see how you could have found something else as great as what we just did," she shrugged. "I'd like to end our day out on a high note."

"Would you just trust me?" he laughed. "Haven't I done a good job so far? I'm not gonna ruin it now. I promise you're gonna enjoy this. Me not so much, but you'll definitely get a kick out of it."

The taxi soon arrived outside of a very old movie theater and let them out. Raven was once again skeptical but he pulled her inside. What she didn't know was that he really had given the day a lot of thought. That was why he'd stayed at the front desk with the couple the night before for a half an hour. He had thought about Raven and told the owners everything he knew about her. And, with their help, they'd carefully created a day that she would undoubtedly enjoy. It was the first time he'd actually put her at the forefront of his mind and wanted to make her happy. He normally only put this much effort into trying to impress a girl he liked so to be doing it for Raven was a strange experience for him. But, in the end, it had definitely helped him achieve the perfect day for her. At least that's what he hoped.

He bought two tickets for a movie while she got some popcorn and then presented one to her. "Alright, here's your ticket."

"Great…what are we seeing?" she asked, still doubtful she was going to enjoy herself.

"I'm so glad you asked," he smirked. "We're seeing _Tanz mit dem Mond_, the three hour German epic that has reshaped fairytales for the new millennium and that…that…okay I've forgotten what the rest of the clip from the newspaper said. But it's subtitled, it's fantasy based, and I figured it'd be something you'd like. So…sound good?"

She was obviously shocked by the way she stared at him. "You're taking me to see a subtitled three hour movie? Of your own free will?"

"Well this is _your_ vacation and this day is about _you_," he smiled, glad that she seemed happy with his choice. "Wouldn't be very cool if I dragged you to see a gross-out comedy, right?"

She looked at the ticket in her hand and seemed flabbergasted. "I…I can't believe you'd actually sit through a movie you know you're going to hate just for…for me."

"Well, uh, you deserve it," he said, rubbing his arm. She was so happy, and obviously touched by his thoughtfulness, he wasn't sure how to respond. Raven never acted like this. And for her to be this way in front of him was not only foreign it was…confusing? "And it's about time someone did something, you know, nice for you."

She gave a slight smile and said, "Thank you, Beast Boy. Even if this movie is terrible I think this day may go down as one of the nicest I've ever had. And, as a thank you, you can sleep through the film if you want."

"Really?" he beamed.

She nodded. "Really. And I promise I won't hold it against you."

"Well now you've made _my_ day," he smiled with relief.


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 11

The sky had cleared and the sun was setting by the time they'd exited the movie theater. Raven seemed unmoved by the film but she'd actually enjoyed it immensely. Beast Boy was feeling rather refreshed as they left, having slept through two hours of it; he'd only stayed awake through the first half hour and the last half hour. He hadn't a clue what it was about but if Raven enjoyed it then he was content.

"Alright one more stop before we had back to the _Sunnyhill B n' B_," he said, stretching.

"Where are we going now?" she asked curiously.

"Out to dinner," he said, licking his lips. "I'm starving. Now this part you get to choose. We can go to an Indian, an Italian, or a Mexican restaurant."

"I'm in the mood for Italian," she said, smelling garlic in the air.

"Cool, I can see the place from here," he smiled and pointed up the sidewalk to a building that had a sign that read _Nei Cieli_. "You can smell the garlic bread too, huh?"

"Oh yeah," she said flatly but it was genuine.

They walked to the restaurant and Raven was surprised to discover that they had a reservation. Beast Boy had made reservations at all three restaurants so that he was prepared no matter what. She was very impressed and even told him so, which just about made his day. They were sat at a very nice table in front of the main window so that they could people watch while they ate. She felt that they weren't dressed up nice enough to be displayed for the public to see but he told her to ignore them, like she usually did. She realized he was right and that it was best to just focus on their meal. They were served buttery garlic breadsticks and soon placed their orders.

"So, be honest, how did I do today?" he asked, feeling confident but still bracing for criticism.

"I'm at a loss for words," she said, sipping her water. "I can't believe that you, of all people, managed to put together a day that I'd enjoy. I had no idea you knew as much about me as you do."

"Trust me, I surprised myself," he laughed.

"So how about you? Was today torturous?"

"Oddly enough, no. I liked the barn a lot. I would totally hang out there if it were closer to home. I got a good nap during the movie and so far this dinner is awesome."

"You've only eaten a couple breadsticks."

"Yeah but they're out of this world! So all in all I think I had a good day, too."

"Well good. I know this day was about me but I don't like putting people through things that they don't like."

"Really? I always thought you enjoyed watching me squirm," he smirked.

"There's a difference between light teasing and making someone uncomfortable," she clarified but then smirked back at him. "Though admittedly there is something satisfying about making you squirm."

"Yeah I get that a lot," he chuckled. "Oh! Before I forget, I got you something." He reached into his pocket and took out a small paper bag. He handed it over and said, "I hope you like it."

"You bought me a gift?" he asked, looking at him oddly. She opened the bag and poured its contents out. Into her hand fell a beautiful gemstone set on a silver chain. She was quite shocked by what she saw and rubbed the smooth stone with her fingers. "Beast Boy…"

"It's a…one second," he reached into his pocket and took out the small card that came with it. "An obsidian snowflake gemstone. I thought it was kinda cool and when I read its description I thought it'd be great for you! It says that it's_ a stone of purity and it balances the mind and spirit. The blackness of this stone enhances the ability to reach your inner self. It's one of the earliest known stones to be used for scrying,_ whatever that means._ It helps you recognize and release 'wrong thinking' and stressful mental patterns. It promotes dispassion, inner centering, and empowers isolation and loneliness, aiding surrender in meditation._ So it's gonna help you whenever you get stressed out and calm you down. I was just gonna get the stone but the woman at the barn said that she could put it on a chain so it'd be a necklace. So…do you like it?"

She stared at it for a few seconds silently. He was on the edge of his seat, anxious to know what she thought of the gift. Finally she closed her hand around it and looked at him, unsure and confused. "I don't understand. Why'd you get this for me?"

His ears lowered and, downhearted, he said, "I take it that means you don't like it?"

"I didn't say that," she said quickly.

"Because most girls would, you know, smile when they get a necklace," he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "I know it's not like a typical piece of jewelry or anything but a little smile would be nice."

"No, I do like it. It's incredibly thoughtful," she said reassuringly. "It's just…this is the first time anyone's ever gotten me a gift for no reason. I'm not quite sure how to react. I can't even be thankful because I'm too consumed with wanting to know why. Why did you get this for me?"

"Well…because today's your day!" he said, rubbing his neck. "And, like you said, no one's ever just gotten you a gift for the heck of it so…there you go! I saw it, I thought it was nice looking, I read the description, and I thought you'd like it. And it's not like you don't deserve a gift from me at this point. You are letting me tag along with you on your vacation. So it's not just a gift for nothing. It's a thank you gift."

She opened her hand and looked at the necklace and gem again. The extreme corners of her lips went up ever so slightly and said looked at him. He involuntarily shivered. "Thank you, Beast Boy. I love it." She undid the clasp and placed it around her neck. Once it was secure she set it over her heart and asked as nonchalantly as possible, "How does it look?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Like it was meant for you."

She rolled her eyes but the gentle delight in her lips did not disappear. "You were far too nice to me today. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were doing this out of guilt or something."

The changeling stared at her for a moment before his cracking voice said, "Heh, yeah, go figure, right?" It wasn't the right response but he wasn't sure what to say she'd caught him so off guard. "Maybe from now on when I do nice things you won't be suspicious." He was digging his grave deeper and deeper but he just couldn't stop.

"We'll see," she said with a slight smirk.

He breathed a sigh of relief. She still hadn't a clue.

After they'd finished dinner they headed back to the Bed and Breakfast to pack and head for the train station. They'd be taking an overnight train straight to Civic City where they'd make it with a few hours to spare before the signing. Unfortunately when they arrived at the train station they discovered that there wasn't a nonstop to Civic City…but there was one for Empire City.

"Of course there's not a train to Civic City," Raven growled. "Now there's no way we'll be able to get there in time. Even if we catch the last train we'll still have to sit in the next station all night until the first train in the morning."

"Well hang on," said Beast Boy, looking over the map that highlighted the train routes. For once things were turning in his favor without his interference! "What if we go to Empire City?"

"Because the book signing is in Civic City," she said tensely.

"I know but if we take the overnight train to Empire City then we can hop on a bus and get to Civic City in no time!" he explained. "The train gets to Empire City at seven and a bus to Civic City can't take more than two hours so we'd get there by nine and the book signing isn't until eleven! And, as much as we like these books, I'm pretty sure the line won't be too long."

She thought about this, obviously not very pleased with the idea, but in the end said, "I guess that's what we're going to have to do."

They bought their tickets to Empire City and soon boarded the overnight train. The accommodations were pretty nice and both were glad to just be on their final train ride. And after one more bus they'd be at their destination. Well Raven would be. Beast Boy had to somehow think up an excuse that would allow him to stay in Empire City. That wasn't going to be easy. He didn't want to come out and tell his teammate, and now good friend, that he'd been lying about everything from the beginning. She deserved the truth but he didn't want to endure the fallout that would come with being honest. He liked what he had with her now. They could look at each other as friends and not just teammates now. And if he told her his real intentions she'd undoubtedly be angry and forget the good times they'd had.

"Hey Robin," said Raven, checking in with the team once again.

"Well you're looking a little cheerier than the last time we spoke," he noted. "Things finally getting better?"

"Well they're not getting any worse," she said evenly. "We had a good day today and are nearly at our destination."

"That's good," he said, glad to hear it. "Would you mind talking to the others for a moment?"

"You mean Starfire?" she stated.

"Hello friend!" Starfire gushed, grabbing the communicator before Robin could answer. "I wish to know all about your adventures. Please regale me with your tales of travel."

"Trust me, you'll hear all about it when we get home," said Raven.

"Please, may I see Beast Boy?" asked Starfire. Raven handed the communicator over to the changeling. "Hello Beast Boy!"

"Hi Star," he smiled. "Miss me much?"

"Oh I have missed you and Raven very much," said Starfire, though she was smiling so hard it was difficult to believe she was sad. "It has been oddly quiet around here without the both of you. Cyborg says it is because your daily quarreling as though you were an aged couple bound by marriage has been taken outside of the tower."

"He said what?" asked Beast Boy, rather confused.

"I said it's quiet around here without the two of you bickering like an old married couple," Cyborg smirked, snatching the communicator from the alien. "How're you doing, grass stain?"

"Cyborg! Dude, you have no idea how great it is to see your bucket-of-bolts face," Beast Boy laughed. "I can't wait to get back home and play some videogames. Oh and guess what! Raven's gonna play some!"

"I'm not playing in front of him," Raven said clearly. "You said you were teaching me. I'm not letting Cyborg critique me as well."

"Whoa whoa, wait a second," said Cyborg. "Raven's gonna play videogames? _Our_ Raven?"

"See? It's stuff like that that makes me not want to try it," Raven grumbled.

"Cyborg, shut up!" Beast Boy hissed. "Do you know what I had to go through to get her to agree to try it?"

"What you had to go through? You read a book," said Raven.

"_You_ read a book?!" Cyborg laughed.

"Okay I'm done talking to you," Beast Boy frowned. "Put someone else on." The image jumped around for a bit as the communicator was passed to someone else with Cyborg chuckling up a storm in the background.

"Nice to hear that things are going better," Aqualad smiled.

As usual, Beast Boy was less than thrilled to see him. "Oh you. Yeah, everything's peachy here."

"Can I talk to Raven?" Aqualad asked.

"Why?" Beast Boy snapped without meaning to.

"Because it's her vacation and I want to know how she's enjoying it," Aqualad explained.

The changeling felt a growl brewing in his throat but before he could reject the other Titan Raven had grabbed the communicator. He felt the growl itch around his mouth so finally he spat it out in the form of a cough that sounded quite threatening. She gave him an odd look but then turned back to the device.

"Hello Aqualad," she said pleasantly. "I'm doing fine."

"That's good," he said. "So I never did hear how Beast Boy ended up joining you."

"It's a long story," she sighed.

"I bet," he laughed. "So which city are you heading to, again?"

"Well Civic City is the end destination but we're actually on our way to Empire City at the moment," she explained. "Again, a long story."

"Empire City? You don't say," he smirked. "Any particular reason? You know there's a big concert taking place there tomorrow."

Beast Boy knew exactly what he was doing and felt his gut jump with fear. He was trying to let Raven in on what was going on! He couldn't let that happen. He quickly pretended to yawn and basically punched the communicator out of her hands.

"Whoops, I'll get it," he said and jumped after it, turning the electronic off as soon as he got his hands on it. "Well would you look at that? Accidentally hung up on him. Oh well."

"That's alright we can just call them back," she said, holding her hand out for it.

"Nah, I'm sure they'll understand," he said, pocketing it. "They probably think we've lost reception or something. It's been known to happen when we go through tunnels and stuff. Besides, you said we'd tell them everything when we got back. Well I don't know about you but I'm pooped. How about we give these cool little beds a try? We got a big day tomorrow, right? Finally get to meet the author of Ashen Splendor. Excited?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, her head spinning from his quick talking and change of subject. "After all we've been through it'll be nice to finally do something I planned."


	12. Chapter 12

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 12

It wasn't especially easy sleeping on a train but Raven did manage. But Beast Boy wasn't able to stay asleep for long. He drifted in and out for a few hours but in the end the anxiety over the next twenty-four hours was enough to withhold sleep from him. It was around four in the morning when he finally sat up and decided to take a walk to try and calm his nerves. He noticed that it was raining again, their small window had constant water running across it, and it was pitch black out. He managed to leave without waking Raven and proceeded to walk the cars for a bit.

It was very quiet, eerily so, but he didn't expect there to be much noise. Not only were most people asleep but there weren't many occupants on the train anyway. He made it to the dining car and took a seat at a booth. He looked out the dark window and rested his head on the cool surface of the table. What was he going to do? He had to split from Raven once they reached Empire City but he couldn't think of any way that he could do it without her finding out the truth. But she'd find out the truth once they got home and everyone talked about him being on television at a concert. The concert. He still wasn't even sure how he was going to get in and then on stage with the pop star.

He heard the sound of hurried footsteps and he raised his head to see who it was. A man entered the dining car and he did not look like a passenger. He was dressed outlandishly and his face was obscured by a pair of campy goggles. He was cradling a box no bigger than a loaf of bread in his left arm and his eyes darted about manically. He looked like…oh no. Beast Boy knew exactly what sort of person he was looking at: a criminal, a villain. And no sooner had he had this thought that the man spotted him. He reached into his belt and pulled out a pistol that looked very technologically advanced and pointed it at the changeling.

"Crud," Beast Boy sighed and went into Titan mode. He slipped under the table as a large blast occupied the space he'd just been sitting in. He crawled out from under it and sprinted out of the dining car as quickly as he could. "Jeez, bad guys are like spiders! They're everywhere!"

"Stop! None shall speak of the day I, Boomerang, performed the perfect heist!" the man called out.

"Whoa, relax!" Beast Boy shouted back at him.

"Never! Now yield to me!" Boomerang demanded and shot at the green teen again.

"Wait a sec, if you're called Boomerang then why are you using a concentrated energy based pistol?" asked Beast Boy as he continued to flee. "Where's the boomerang?"

"Because I put the 'Boom' in Boomerang!" the man laughed and shot again.

"Oh dude, lame," Beast Boy shook his head and shivered as he reached the car where the beds were located. He spotted the door that lead to their quarters but decided not to go in. He'd end up cornered and then Raven would be at this guy's mercy as well. No, he had to keep going and try to keep her safe. But he was certainly going to make a lot of noise as he passed. "Wah! Help! Thief! Trouble! S.O.S!" He ducked just in time to avoid another shot and continued on.

"How dare you call me lame?" Boomerang bellowed. "You who has stained his skin green and dyed his hair?"

"It's not dye!" Beast Boy shouted angrily and looked for some way to get out of the man's line of fire. It was hard to escape when on a moving train. "Why the heck are you targeting me? Make your escape now before you get caught!"

"I can't leave witnesses," said Boomerang and fired again.

Beast Boy was grazed that time and he grabbed his left shoulder in pain. What was he going to do? He couldn't keep running. Superpowers or no, he had to fight! He slowed his running a bit so that Boomerang thought he was gaining on him then, at the right moment, the changeling fell to the ground and let the villain trip right over him. They were tangled on the floor together and Beast Boy put his emergency training to use. He got the man in a headlock and did his best to pin him down with his knee. It was a terrible struggle to stay in control, but Beast Boy managed to keep the villain subdued.

From down the way he spotted Raven running towards them. "Beast Boy!"

"Oh good you heard me screaming," said the changeling. "This guy stole something then started shooting at me."

"Why didn't you come get me?" she asked, noticing his burnt shoulder.

"I didn't want him to know there was another Titan on the train," he explained. "If I'd gone to you I could've gotten both of us shot up. So I figured I'd get him away from you and let him come after me instead. I'm glad my yelling woke you up, though."

"So…you protected me?" she asked, astounded.

"Uh, well yeah, I mean I guess I-" he began but Boomerang smacked his head as hard as he could into Beast Boy's nose, startling him enough to release his hold.

He jumped to his feet and pointed his pistol at the two. "Titans? Oh this is delicious. If I take you two out I'll go down in villain infamy! Let's see them ignore my application for official villain status after this." He pulled the trigger on his gun to fire another round…but the pistol only died in his hands. "Drat, the core's exhausted. Now where did I put my extra-"

Raven took the opportunity to swipe the weapon out of his hand with her foot and then roundhouse kick him so hard he smacked into the wall. He slid down it and landed crumpled on the floor with a terrible groan.

"Who is this guy?" she asked.

"He calls himself Boomerang," Beast Boy explained while rubbing his poor nose. "Which is a real stupid name cuz he doesn't even use one! I mean, I get the whole clever name thing but you've gotta stay on theme, you know? You can't call yourself Boomerang and not use one or at least be Australian."

Said villain tried to get to his feet but Raven was quick to put her foot to his back and push him back down. "Did he say why he's here?"

"According to him he's performing the perfect heist," said Beast Boy. "And he had some box in his arms. Where is it…there it is!" He grabbed the box, which had flown out of the man's hands upon being kicked, and opened it. "Uh…looks like he was stealing a box full of storage disks. Dude, you can buy these at practically any store! You had to pull off a train robbery for these?"

"I'm guessing they're not empty," Raven rolled her eyes. "They probably contain information this guy can use to his advantage."

He mulled this over then got down low, twisting the guy's head towards him. "Is that true, buddy? You trying to steal important information?"

"I'll never tell," Boomerang grunted.

"Well that's a yes," said Beast Boy, standing back up. "So…what do we do with him?"

"Turn him over to the crew I suppose," she shrugged. "You made quite a commotion while being chased so I'm sure they're aware that something's happened." Just then they heard and saw a group of people running as fast as they could towards them. "See? Speak of the dev-"

A massive explosion erupted and threw everyone ten feet in all available directions. While the two Titans had been discussing the situation Boomerang had managed to manipulate one of his hands into his belt where he grabbed a ball the size of a marble. He pressed a small trigger button on it no larger than the head of an eraser and rolled it away from him. Five seconds later it combusted and blew a large hole in the side of the car.

The smoke was quickly sucked out of the gaping hole in the train but the damage remained. Beast Boy could hear nothing but a high pitched ringing and the wind was most certainly knocked out of him. He choked and banged his chest until finally he began to breathe again. He looked up and saw the train's crew on the ground hurt and in shock. He couldn't spot Raven. And Boomerang was staggering towards the opening in the car, box back in his arms. The changeling growled and forced himself to his feet.

"It's been a pleasure," Boomerang coughed, obviously as battered as everyone else, "but I better take my leave. Enjoy your ride." He smirked beneath his bloody nose and went to jump out. But as his feet left the floor he was tackled and in an instant both he and his attacker were half hanging out of the train. Beast Boy had managed to knock the box out of his hand but now was clinging to the side of the train for his life. "You fool! How dare you interfere with me again?!"

"Dude, shut up!" Beast Boy yelled and wished he could transform into something with claws to ensure his grip. Not only was everything jagged but the rain now battering them was making everything slick. "I'm a Titan! It's my job to interfere with scum like you!"

"Beast Boy!"

The teen looked up to see Raven crawling towards him. She had obviously taken the brunt of the explosion from the marks and burns all over her. But it would take more than that to stop her and of this he was glad. She grabbed onto his arms and began to pull him back inside.

"Pollywog! I've never been so happy to see you!" he grinned and tried get his footing while she pulled him in.

"Shut up and get in here before you get yourself killed," she said through her teeth as she pulled him with all of her might. She was injured and still in shock but was still giving it her all. He expected nothing less.

But just as he'd gotten his knees inside and was assured safety an arm reached out and grabbed Raven by the shoulder. Boomerang had grabbed her to help himself get back inside. He pushed her down to the floor so that he could propel his body inside the vehicle. He tumbled inside and had the wits about him to turn and kick her, returning the favor she'd given him minutes before. With a scream the empath flew out of the train and disappeared into the darkness.

"Raven!" Beast Boy screamed. He went to jump out after her but paused to look at the villain. He growled and bared his fangs, taking the communicator out of his pocket. "You wanna blow crud up? Well two can play that game, dude!" He hit the device's self-destruct button and threw it at the wannabe bad guy. And with that he leapt out of the train into the blackness of the night.

He was sure there must've been an explosion but he was too focused on the certain death he'd thrown himself into. He hit the ground hard and began to roll and roll; he felt as though he were being skipped across a cement lake like a stone. Finally he skid to a stop and rest in what he now realized was grass and mud. And there he remained for many minutes, being partially knocked out from the rough journey.

When he came to his senses he began to move bits of his body carefully, seeing what had been hurt and what had been spared. He'd never been so glad for his high level of durability. He might not have had the ability to transform into animals but that didn't mean he was an average human being. His body was still extremely flexible and this helped him avoid any major injuries. From what he could tell, apart from all over bruising and scratches, he'd sprained his wrist on the landing, probably broke three toes on his right foot, and hyperextended his right knee. He'd also chomped his tongue pretty badly and all he could taste was blood. So, considering that he should have been dead, he was alright.

He got to his feet and pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. He'd come to a stop no less than five feet away from a line of trees. If he'd been going a little faster or at a different angle he could have been launched right into the trunk of a tree and been killed. The air was cold and the rain colder. Not a good night to be alone and stuck injured in the middle of nowhere. Alone. Was he alone? He'd jumped only ten seconds after she'd been kicked out but the train had been going at a great speed. But he must've been somewhat close to her. He gained his bearings and headed back towards where she had to have been, calling out to her above the rain.

"Raven! Where are you? Call out to me! Are you okay? Raven!"

Walking was slow going, what with his broken toes and bad knee, but he wasn't going to stop. Not until he'd found her. The mud was a terrible obstacle and it only made his injuries even harder to deal with. The one thing he had in his favor was that his senses were still hyper sensitive. It was as dark as it could be and yet he could still see pretty decently. Unfortunately his ears were still compromised from the explosion but his sense of smell was undamaged. So he was counting on his eyes and nose to find his missing and injured teammate.

When he felt as though he'd walked a mile he took a seat to rest. It wasn't nearly a mile, obviously, but it sure felt like it. He sat in the wet mud and spat out more blood laden spit. He could feel that his fang had bitten right through his tongue and now it stung terribly. He hadn't felt this miserable in a very long time.


	13. Chapter 13

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 13

The moment the scent hit his nose he'd jumped. Raven's scent. His nose had caught it between the raindrops and on the wind. He barely felt his wounds as he rose to his feet and followed the elegant aroma of his teammate. He was alarmed when he smelt it mixed with blood but he'd be kidding himself if he thought he wouldn't smell it. His eyes scanned the area and finally he spotted a figure that did not blend in with the wooden surroundings. They were sitting but trying to get to their feet.

"Raven!" he called out and limped his way over to her. She was very startled by the sound of his voice and fell back to the ground. He reached her and got down the best he could to be at eye level. "Are you okay?"

"Oh I could be better," she groaned. "But I guess being dead would be worse."

He smiled. She was alright. "How bad are you hurt?"

"I took the brunt of the fall on my hip," she winced. She was leaning far to her right, trying to take any pressure off of her left hip. "I've been trying to stand up but so far it hasn't been going well. And my neck's pretty messed up. I probably almost snapped it."

"Well good thing you didn't," he said, scared just hearing that she'd nearly died. "That's all I need, to have your death on my conscience."

"This wasn't your fault," she said, trying to adjust herself to a less painful position. "It was that insane man with the flamboyant goggles. And once my powers come back I'm going to shove his eyewear down his throat. How bad are you hurt?"

"Just my knee and wrist," he shrugged. "And my foot. And my tongue."

"Okay, what _didn't_ you hurt?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me," he said, moving to sit so as to relieve the pressure on his knee. "I'm better off than you. You fell out of a train and got caught up in that explosion. Not many people can say they survived either, let alone both in a matter of minutes."

"I don't think this is something to brag about," she said, pushing her dripping locks back. "Call Robin and have him contact the nearest police station to come help us."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You have the communicator."

"Oh…right. Well, um, I sorta activated its self-destruct mode and threw it at that creep."

Raven let out a groaning sigh. "So we've got no way to call for help. Wonderful."

"Sorry," he said and meant it. "I didn't think about the fact that we'd be stranded out here. I just wanted to get him back for what he did to you. I should've thought it through."

She inhaled deeply and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Hopefully you damaged him enough to give the train's employees a chance at stopping him." It went quiet for a moment as the rain continued to drench their bruised and battered bodies. "You didn't have to jump out after me, you know. You should have stayed behind and made sure that guy was taken down. Stopping him is more important than coming after me, not to mention less likely to kill you."

"Well, sorry, but I don't think that way," he shook his head. "To me it's more important to make sure my friends are okay than to stop some crook. Whatever a villain's stealing will never be worth the life of someone I care about. But that's just me." He brought his good knee up and wrapped his arms around it, trying to keep himself warm.

He felt something cold and wet press against his side. He turned and was stunned to see that she was leaning against him. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really glad you're here with me right now. And I'm glad you stowed away in my bag and came on this trip with me." She leaned her head against his so that his ear felt her temple. "If it weren't for you I'd have been far worse off. I might have been killed five times over if it hadn't been for you being by my side. And…I'm glad I'm able to call you my friend. For some reason, even though were really screwed out here, I actually feel comforted that you're by my side."

That was it. The guilt that had been gnawing at him finally chewed right through his soul. He ripped himself away from her and screamed, "I can't do this anymore!" He crawled in front of her and looked her in the eyes. He didn't care how much it would hurt, he had to do this the right way or his soul would never heal. "Raven I…I lied. I lied about everything."

"What do you mean?" she asked, quite confused.

"I've never read any of the _Ashen Splendor_ books and I couldn't care less about meeting the author of them. I hid away in your bag so that I could get across the country and go to Fiona Star's concert in Empire City. I lied and told Aqualad that she and I were friends and that I was gonna sing with her. He bet me that I wasn't and if he wins the bet he gets my spot on the team permanently and I've gotta go to Titans East. So I caught a ride with you cuz it was the only way I could save my spot on the team. This whole time I've been doing everything in my power to get us to Empire City instead of Civic City. I changed our bus tickets and I let you sleep through our stop on the train."

She stared at him with wide, perplexed eyes. "You…You what?"

"And you didn't lose your book on the bus, I did," he continued. "All the bad stuff that happened to you on this trip was because of _me_. Except for the bus accident! I swear I didn't have anything to do with that. But everything else was my fault."

She held his intense gaze for another heartbeat then dropped her eyes down to the mud. She nearly fell over she seemed so disoriented by all of this information so she grabbed at the wet ground and locked her arm. He watched as her body lurched with breath once she remembered to breathe again and she began to tremble all over. After what felt like a year's worth of breath, she gripped the earth so tightly her knuckles went white. She raised her eyes alone and they burned with rage so brilliantly he felt scared to his very core.

"You used me," she hissed through her teeth, pulling up the terrain enclosed in her fist.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" he started.

"Stop talking!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing against the rain, and threw the mud in her hand at him. "Don't you ever talk to me again. You…You are the most selfish child I've ever met. How dare you use the trust I have in my teammates against me? How dare you upset me like this? I'm screaming and filled with rage! If I had my powers you'd be dead and I'd be issuing in the next apocalypse! Do you understand that? How dare you do this to me?"

"Please, Raven, I-"

"Shut up!" she demanded. "And you did all of this because of Aqualad? Because of some imagined rivalry you think you have with him? I can't believe that after all of this time you're still intimidated by him. Not only are you selfish but your immaturity and jealousy has nearly gotten me killed! Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Of course-"

"Shut it! Shut your mouth!" She moved her injured body and began to force herself up to her feet. It was incredibly painful and she wailed through her teeth in agony. But she made it up to a standing position and once she had she looked down on him. "Go. Go to your concert. But I promise you that I will _never_ be on the same team as you again. If you stay on our team then I'll transfer to another." She gave him her back and was about to hobble away but paused. She reached up around her neck and grabbed the gemstone on the silver chain. She yanked it off and threw it at him, hitting him square in the sternum. "You've lost my trust and respect. And I can't be on a team with someone like you." She turned back around and limped off, finding her way to the tracks that she followed away from him.

He didn't make any attempt to stop her. He didn't have the right. He just watched as her limping figure disappeared down the tracks. And once she was out of sight he dropped his head in shame. He spotted the Snowflake Obsidian sitting in the mud, staring up at him. Now what was he to do? Continue on towards Empire City? Was it even worth it at this point?

No. It wasn't. He loved his team but none of this was worth his position with them. And once they found out what he had done and how stupid he had been there was no way they'd want him on their team anymore anyway. He'd be lucky if they allowed him to be in the Titans at all. So screw the concert. And screw Aqualad. And, most importantly, screw himself.

He picked up the necklace, carefully got up, and followed after his teammate, if he could even call her that now. He wasn't sure where the nearest town was but sooner or later the tracks would lead to civilization. The sun was rising for the day and the rain was finally clearing up. The landscape was muddy and dark but the gray sky was starting to glow with morning light. He felt as though the sun was dawning on a new part of his life; a humble, disgraced life.

Ahead of him he spotted something on the side of the tracks. At first he wasn't quite sure what it could be but within a few yards he was able to make out that it was a person. And it wasn't just any person; it was Raven. She was lying down on the ground, her elbow propping her up slightly. He could smell tears on the wind. He quickened his pace but he slowed when he finally reached her. He approached very carefully, scared she'd turn and lash out at him. But she did not. She continued to silently cry. He stood next to her for a few seconds then got the courage to sit next to her. And he sat there for a very long while as she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her already wet sleeves. Finally he cleared his throat.

"I know you don't want me to ever speak to you again," he began meekly, "but if this is the last time you're ever gonna be anywhere near me then I've gotta use every second I've got left with you. I know you think I'm a liar, and I am, but I want you to know that I really am sorry. I never thought it would go this far. I never thought you'd get hurt. And you're right, I never thought about what would happen if I got you so angry that your powers went out of control. I was so focused on getting to Empire City that none of that mattered to me. I just…I didn't want to leave the team. I love the city and I love the four of you. And the thought of Aqualad getting my place on my team just made me so upset that I had to do anything I could to make sure it didn't happen. Even if that meant lying to you. But I've decided that hurting you the way I did wasn't worth my spot on the team. So I'm gonna go home, confess everything, and lose the bet. That way I'll have to switch teams and you can stay. It's not fair for you to have to go somewhere new. I know how hard it is for you to feel comfortable or to fit in. So you stay with the team and I'll go to Titans East. I'm sure you'll be happy to have Aqualad by your side instead of stupid little me anyway."

He listened as she continued to cry and it made him very uncomfortable. He wanted to hug her, make her feel better. That's what his instincts told him to do but he knew that was forbidden. "I'm sorry I've made you cry. I really broke you down, huh?"

"Don't be absurd, I'm not crying about you," she spat.

"Then why-"

"Because I'm in pain!" she wept. "Not only am I burned, scratched, and bruised I've been walking on a most likely fractured hip. I can't even deal with my emotions towards you right now." And with that she began to cry a little louder.

He'd never actually seen her in such pain before and he didn't like it. She was obviously frightened that she was out of control of her body and wasn't sure what to do. And he felt just as helpless. "Anything I can do?"

"Just be quiet and leave me alone." She dragged herself to a flat area and lay down on her back, finally feeling some relief from the agony in her hip. She took in deep breaths to calm herself but she still exhaled with moans. Now that her hip had been addressed she began to feel the pain in her neck and no matter which way she tried to rest her head it hurt terribly.

He could see her struggling to lay her neck the right way so that it didn't pain her. He pulled off his wet sweatshirt, rung it out, rolled it up, and carefully slipped it under her head. She didn't say so but he knew it helped when he saw the tension on her body noticeably lessen. He wished he could do more for her.

"Raven, do you want me to leave you and keep walking until I can find help? I'm not sure how far away we are from the next town but if I set out now I could-"

"I swear to Azar, Beast Boy, if you leave me alone and helpless out here I really will never forgive you."

"I thought you wanted me to leave you alone."

"I meant don't pester me not to leave me out here by myself."

"But didn't you say-"

"I know what I said! Just shut up and keep your eyes open for any train passing by or helicopter flying overhead. If help hasn't already been sent out to try and find us then it will when the next train spots us in distress on the side of the tracks. So until we're rescued you are to stay here and do your best to actually keep me safe."

He didn't say anything after that. He moved to sit next to her and kept his eyes on the tracks, turning his head from left to right every other minute. Perhaps if she was able to count on him now, when she was at her most vulnerable and had never despised him more, there was hope.


	14. Chapter 14

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 14

The sun was shining brightly and the clouds were sparse. The wet ground was slowly drying and the mud caked on their clothes was crumbling off. It had been hours since they'd last spoken and there was no sign of train or help. Raven had ceased weeping and was now lying as still as possible, lest she aggravate her injuries. Beast Boy's behind had gone numb from sitting for so long looking up and down the tracks. He never looked away unless he heard her squeak with pain after adjusting herself on the ground. He'd never say it aloud but he'd grown quite bored and was beginning to nod off. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and after all they'd been through he was more than understandably fatigued.

"Why do you have such an issue with Aqualad?" she asked out of the blue, startling him.

"Huh? Oh. Well…because…I don't know," he shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Considering what you've put me through I think I deserve an explanation, no matter how complicated you think it is."

He sighed and rubbed his neck. "I just…I guess I can't stand how much everyone likes him."

"Are you saying that you think we should dislike him?"

"Well…no."

"Then why don't you like that we like him?"

"It's…well…argh! See? This is what I mean. It's complicated."

"Then explain."

He wasn't sure what to say. He'd never had to articulate his disdain for Aqualad before. "I guess I just hate the thought of people comparing the two of us. When they look at him and they see a big hero who can take care of himself. People look at me and they see…well not that. He's got good looks, a good personality, and is an amazing hero. The only flaw he has is that he doesn't have any flaws. He's practically perfect and I'm so not. I'm scrawny and green and notoriously as sharp as a wet rag. And I hate the thought that everyone will always choose him over me."

"When has he ever been chosen over you?" she asked.

"Well…," he did have to think about this, "…never officially, I guess. But, take when we first met him, he got you to smile within seconds. You never smile for me no matter how much I try. But this tall, dark, and handsome guy shows up and all of sudden you're nothing but grins. So you chose to smile for him instead of me. How can I not feel bad about that?"

"So what if I smiled?" she said. "It's just a smile, it doesn't mean I like him better than you. And I have smiled for you before so that argument is invalid."

"Yeah but you've never smiled for me the way you smiled for him."

"What does that matter? Are you jealous because I gave a guy other than you a smile?"

"No! But…But why _him_? You could have smiled for any other guy on Earth and I wouldn't have cared. But you had to smile at him."

"Now we're back to where we started. Why do you dislike him so much? What does he have that you're so envious of? Is it his good looks? Is this about vanity?"

"No," he said a little too quickly. "I mean, I don't know. Everyone else thinks he's handsome and…well you don't ever see girls swooning over me like they do for him. I might as well not even be in the room when he's around."

"So you think that means he's better looking than you?"

"I might not be smart but even I can put two and two together," he began to pout.

She was quiet for a moment; not a very long moment, but long enough for him to notice. Then he listened as she took in a deep breath and released it. "You two look nothing alike. But that doesn't mean one of you is more attractive than the other."

"Yeah but-"

"And let me point something else out," she said, cutting him off quickly. "You're far more useful a fighter than he ever will be."

"Aw come on, you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I couldn't care less about how you feel. What I'm saying is fact. Aqualad is powerful but the circumstances need to be right. How useful would he be if he were fighting in the middle of the Gobi Desert or in the Grand Canyon? Or was battling on a platform suspended far above the Earth? He'd be as useful as the two of us right now without our powers. You have an amazing ability, Beast Boy. No matter where you are you can use your powers and for nearly any situation you face. Aqualad's not perfect. He's only as perfect as you make him out to be."

He'd never considered that. And he felt incredibly dense to have never figured that out. Perhaps this rivalry really had been in his head all this time. He'd always thought that everyone else considered the Atlantian perfect but, seeing as Raven could clearly see his flaws, maybe it was his insecurities that made him think this way. "Wow. I'm an idiot."

"That was established long ago," she said and tried to adjust herself, whimpering as she did. "But I should add that that doesn't mean you're unintelligent, it means you're foolish."

"Oh," he said, surprised to learn this. "So…you don't think I'm stupid?"

"You're smart when you want to be. I'm going to leave it at that."

"Wow," he smiled softly and shook his head. "I should've just sat down with you to talk instead of doing all of this just to win a bet that was my fault in the first place."

"Of course you should have," she said flatly. "Or, at the very least, you should've come clean with me the moment you burst out of my travel bag. If I had known you were going through all of this trouble I could've helped you, you know."

"Helped me? You mean tell Aqualad the truth?"

"No, helped you get to that stupid concert."

He wasn't quite sure he'd heard her correctly. "You would've helped me get to the concert? Why?"

"Because I know better than anybody how you feel."

"You do?" he asked, quite shocked. "But I thought you liked Aqualad."

"I don't feel that way about _him_," she sighed. "But there is someone in my life who I've felt constantly compared to. Of course it's mostly in my head. At least that's what I keep telling myself."

"Who?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Well I can't think of anyone who could make you, the queen of not caring what people think of her, feel bad about yourself."

"I don't feel bad about myself I just…well to use your words, it's complicated."

"Well who is it?"

"It's not that hard to figure out. I mean, there's only one other girl I'm constantly around."

"Wait a second…this isn't about Starfire is it?"

"Ding ding, we have a winner."

"Whoa whoa, hold on," he said, turning away from his view of the tracks to look at her. "You feel like you're compared to Starfire? Raven there's no comparison between you! You're as different as night and day. Heck, you two are like night and day! I mean, me feeling like a freak compared to Aqualad is understandable but you and Starfire? You can't compare a ruby to a sapphire!"

"I don't exactly feel like a ruby when I'm next to her."

"Actually I was saying that you were a sapphire. But that's not the point, the point is that you have nothing to worry about."

"Well, to quote you again, I feel like I might as well not even be in the room when she's around."

"Wow. I didn't know you felt like that. You've always seemed so confident in yourself I never thought that you'd feel bad that Starfire always gets so many compliments. I thought you liked not being the center of attention."

"Of course I do but…I don't know. It'd be nice for someone to say something about me once in a while. Something other than the fact that I'm creepy."

"Well…for the record, I think you're attractive." He looked away from her as he said this. It was so odd to admit this but he felt she needed to know. "In fact, I think you're just as attractive as Starfire. Just in a _completely_ different way."

"The same goes for you and Aqualad," she stated, as though that was her point all along. "You two couldn't look any more different but that doesn't mean one of you is more attractive than the other. He is to Starfire as you are to me. You and I aren't conventionally beautiful because we don't look like your average Joe Shmoe on the street."

"Aqualad and Starfire don't look like average people either," he pointed out.

"Their exoticness is socially acceptable because it's subtle. Ours…not so much. That's why people point out how attractive those two are so regularly and we often get overlooked."

"Oh." As much as it was hard to believe, it did make sense. When people looked at him the first thing they saw was green. He often forgot how strange it was for people who'd never seen him before. And he'd never realized that Raven shared the same handicap that he did or that she knew how he was feeling. "So you really would've helped me get to the concert and proven him wrong?"

"I only would've gotten you to the concert but why not?" she shrugged then regretted the movement as she felt sharp pains flash throughout her body. "Even I have to admit that there is something smug about Aqualad."

"Seriously?! It's not just me?" he asked, brightening up.

"And for you to prove him wrong would have been a great accomplishment," she continued, ignoring him. "By the way, what terrible thing was supposed to happen to him if he lost the bet?"

"He had to wear Starfire's uniform for a month," he admitted sheepishly. "Of course if I'd known that he was going to bet my spot on the team I would've made it a whole lot worse." Raven let out an odd muffled snort that made him jump. "What was that?"

"Sorry. I was just picturing Aqualad in Starfire's outfit," she said, trying to hide how much the mental image was amusing her. "Although, with your luck, he'd probably look amazing in it and start a new fashion trend."

"Ugh, you're right," he said and leaned back so that he could lie down for a bit. "And I'd get _none_ of the credit. Story of my life…well where he's concerned, at least."

"Stop sounding so down. It doesn't look good on you."

"How do you know how I look? You're staring up at the trees."

"You know what I meant."

It went quiet between them. A nice breeze passed over and rattled the leaves high above. It was dry but cool and felt rather refreshing.

"Hey Raven?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"Good."

He could hear the anger that was still boiling within her. He wished he could make her understand how sorry he was. He'd said sorry before but this was the first time in a long while he actually sincerely meant it from the bottom of his heart.

"Hey Raven?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

"I heard you the first time."

He still wasn't getting through. Was he ever going to make her believe him? Granted it was a little soon to expect forgiveness but that didn't mean he shouldn't keep trying.

"Hey Raven?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"I said I heard you."

He listened as she tried to lift her head a bit, her neck was probably growing very stiff, and she hissed with agony. It seemed her pain was just getting worse as time went on.

"Raven?"

"I swear, Beast Boy, if you apologize again…"

"Can I still call you Pollywog?"

She obviously hadn't been expecting him to say that. And after a brief moment of silence he was amazed, and delighted, to hear her start to chuckle. And he smiled.

"You're such an idiot," she stated lightly.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I'm stupid, right?" he smirked.

"Whatever you are you're one of a kind," she sighed. "For better or worse there's no one like you, Garfield."

He shuttered at his name but knew he deserved it. "Hey Raven?"

"I'm sure I'm going to regret this. What?"

"I'm sorry."

She went very quiet. He was actually pretty sure she wasn't going to respond. But then, in almost a whisper, she said, "I know." She then gasped and said again, "I know. I…I know!"

"Uh, are you alright?" he asked, sitting up. "Cuz you're starting to scare-"

"I know! I know how you're feeling," she said, shocked and excited. She then closed her eyes and let out a long and relieved moan. "My powers are coming back. My injuries are starting to heal and the pain's fading. Oh thank Azar."

"Your powers are coming back? Sweet! That means mine must be to!" he exclaimed and instantly tried to change his form.

Raven managed to turn her head towards him and saw nothing but a green kitten…giving her The Face.


	15. Chapter 15

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 15

The ground beneath his paws, the wind through his fur, he'd missed this far too much. He ran along the tracks at 85mph, becoming a green blur to Raven who was watching with her arms crossed, in his cheetah form. When he felt he'd exhausted his legs he propelled himself into the air and turned into a hawk. He let out a cry that echoed over the land and flew higher and higher until he'd reached his limit and dove back down, going even faster than ever. Just before he was about to hit the ground he swooped back up, turned into his human form, and landed a few feet away from her.

"Dude, that felt _so_ good," he said, shaking out his limbs and rubbing his muscles. "I never wanna be powerless again. You know, I always secretly wished that I could go back to how I was before I turned green but after these couple days I'm now convinced that I can't. I need to be able to change into animals. And, boy, am I so glad I kept my uniform on under my clothes the whole trip." He went over to her and gave her a wide smile. "Thanks for healing me. I know I didn't deserve it."

"No you didn't but you're welcome," she said, stretching and twisting to loosen herself up. "Well, now that you've gotten that out of your system, we're going to sit down and you're going to tell me everything from beginning to end without leaving out the slightest detail. Now that I'm not in shock or in pain I'm ready to listen. I want to get a clear picture of everything that's happened on this trip because of you." She took a seat in the grass. "Now start from when the bet came up."

He couldn't believe she wanted him to tell her everything again. But, now that he wasn't dying from guilt, he'd be able to explain himself better. So he sat across from her and told her exactly how everything happened, starting from the day Aqualad had arrived at the tower. He told her about the bet and his plan to smuggle away in her bag. He told her about his quick thinking lies and how he was able to convince her that he was a fan of her favorite author. He recalled each day of their trip and which parts he manipulated, which were pure bad luck, and which he'd been genuine. And while he spoke she simply sat, her face as placid as ever, and listened.

"…and it was when you were telling me how happy you were to have me by your side that I couldn't take the guilt any longer. And, well, you know the rest," he finished nearly an hour after he'd began.

She said nothing for a bit. She just turned away from him and sat in thought. He was worried that explaining things more clearly would only make her angrier at him. He wouldn't blame her, of course, but he still hoped she wasn't going to be angrier than she had been. Now that she had her powers back she was lethal. But after around three minutes she stood up, brushed off her behind, and turned back to him.

"I'm guessing it's around noon right now. We need to get going."

"Oh, uh, okay," he said, standing up. "Are you sure you're up to flying? I could always carry you."

"I think I'll be able to make it to Empire City. I may be worn out once we get there but we've got some time. And you've got to be in top condition tonight."

"Wait a sec, did you say Empire City? Why're we going there?"

"We didn't come all this way, nearly die on more than one occasion, and put our friendship in jeopardy just to end up sitting in the middle of nowhere for a night. It's too late for me to meet Melita Funar but it's not too late for you to win this bet."

He was horribly dumbfounded by this and tried to make sense of what she was saying. "You're…gonna help me win the bet? Why would you wanna help me? After everything I did to you, why? I thought you hated me now. And if I win the bet then that means you're gonna hafta switch teams cuz you said you weren't gonna be on a team with me anymore."

"Oh I'm still pretty angry," she said, making sure he didn't get the wrong idea. "But I also think it's pointless for us to be all the way out here and not accomplish something."

He still looked at her unsurely. "Seriously? You're gonna help me win the bet because you don't want this vacation to be a total waste? That doesn't sound like you at all."

"Well maybe you've finally broken me," she said. "Maybe this trip was the final straw and I've finally decided to let my hair down and be as reckless as you are."

"Come on, tell me the truth," he said flatly.

She sighed and looked at him. "I don't really know what to tell you. This time when you told me the story of this little adventure of ours I was able to process your emotions. I know exactly how you felt about the whole affair. I know how much the guilt troubled you and I know that the nice things you did for me weren't only from guilt but also from a real place of kindness and thoughtfulness. And that those moments where we…bonded…they were genuine. You really did enjoy the book I gave you. You thought about me and gave me an amazing day yesterday because you hated seeing me unhappy. You led Boomerang away from our cabin to keep me safe. You jumped out of a moving train because you were worried and scared that I was hurt. So, for those reasons, I'm…forgiving you…mostly."

"You're…You're forgiving me?" he asked, his jaw hanging wide with shock.

"Mostly," she stressed. "You're still going to feel my wrath eventually just not as much as I was planning on originally."

"But…But…," he sputtered.

"After all, I've come to the conclusion that this trip wasn't about making a fool out of me," she said. "It was about not making a fool out of yourself. Winning this bet against Aqualad is going to help you finally conquer a bit of the insecurity you suffer from. And because of that…a little part of me wants you to win the bet. Because if I was in your place and had the chance to get one over on Starfire…I don't know if I'd have the courage to go through with it."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Raven…"

"So let's get to Empire City, get you into that concert and onto the stage, and we'll talk about your punishment after all is said and done," she finished firmly. "You're winning that bet no matter what, got it?"

He blinked then wobbled a bit, nearly ready to faint. Heck, he was ready to cry! He turned away from her and covered his eyes with his arm. "Pollywog, you're the best. I don't deserve a friend like you."

"Of course you don't," she said flatly, though he swore he could hear a slight twang of amusement in her words. "Now let's go, Garfield. I'm in desperate need of a bath, a fresh set of clothes, and a meal. We've got a lot to do and not much time to do it in."

"Gotcha!" he saluted her and turned into a pterodactyl.

The two flew towards Empire City, following the train tracks that they knew would lead them directly to where they needed to be. Soon they saw the large buildings in the distance and began to pass over towns. Many a civilian looked up in shock at the sight of a green dinosaur and a violet haired teenage girl flying overhead but, in this day and age, it was better to not question oddities that came up and just continue on with your day. It took about an hour but they did make it to the city and landed right outside of the police station.

To say that the Empire City Police Department was shocked to see them was a gross understatement. The train had reported the incident that had happened the night before and there were officers currently looking everywhere for the missing heroes. Turned out they were just looking in the wrong places, the train conductor being not quite sure where along the route they'd fallen out. The two learned that Boomerang had been knocked out by Beast Boy's parting gift and had been turned over to the authorities upon arriving at the city. The storage disks he'd been stealing were recovered and, apart from the Titans getting thrown from a moving train, no one else was seriously injured.

Once everything had been explained they were quick to get ahold of a telephone and call Robin. Raven was sure he was probably freaking out and desperately wanting to know what had happened, considering that he was alerted every time a communicator's self-destruct was activated.

"Hello?" he answered, sounding tired and aggravated.

"Guess who," she said dryly. She was speaking but Beast Boy was keeping his keen ear close so that he could hear.

"Raven?! What the heck happened?! Where are you two?"

"We're in Empire City. I take it you heard about our run in on the train?"

"As soon as the police found out two Titans had been involved I was informed. How did you two survive without your powers? They said you fell off the train!"

"Fell off?" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"I was kicked out and Beast Boy jumped out after me," said Raven. "We were pretty badly hurt but luckily our powers came back a little while ago and I managed to heal us."

"Well that's good to hear. We've been freaking out over here. Cyborg's been trying to find you guys through satellite images, Starfire's been crying ever since she found out, and Aqualad's been trying to get permission to call the Titans East and send them out to look for you guys. We're going to need a vacation from your vacation!"

"I need a vacation from my vacation," she growled.

"No kidding," Beast Boy added.

"You have no right to say anything," she pointed at him accusingly, which was pretty justified.

"What did I do?" asked Robin.

"Not you, I was talking to Beast Boy," she sighed.

"Ah. How's he behaving?"

"Oh, you know, he's Beast Boy," she shrugged. "Sometimes I want to kill him and sometimes I want to hug him."

"Hug me?" Beast Boy asked.

"Hug him?" Robin repeated.

"That would be a joke, you guys," she said flatly. "See Robin? He's rubbing off on me."

"Would that be another joke?" he asked.

"You're catching on," she said.

"Well as long as he hasn't driven you to kill him I guess everything's alright," he chuckled.

"Look I'll tell you everything in more detail later," she said, wanting to wrap this up. "Right now I've got other things to sort out. I just wanted to call you and let you know that, somehow, we're both still alive."

"Are you sure you're alright? Do you want us to come out there and get the two of you?" he asked.

"No we're fine," she assured him. "I do need you to transfer some more money into my account, if you don't mind. We need food and I need to buy plane tickets for tomorrow."

"Alright I'll see what I can do," he said. "Why aren't you coming home today?"

"Because we have unfinished business here," she said simply. "Are you guys watching this big concert that's on TV tonight?"

"The Fiona Star one?" he asked. "Uh, yeah, we've been looking forward to it. I didn't even think you knew about it."

"Oh I'm very much aware of it," she said, looking at Beast Boy. "Just make sure everyone's watching, especially Aqualad."

"Uh, okay, whatever you say."

Once she'd hung up the phone they proceeded to the train station to pick up their belongings that they'd left behind. They were glad to find everything was there, especially Raven's charge card, and apologized for the incident. Of course they were told they had no reason to apologize and if it wasn't for them Boomerang might have gotten away. As happy as they were, Raven felt the need to scold the train employees for shipping something that was so important on a passenger train.

"Well we thought it was the last place anyone would think to look for them," the conductor said lamely. "Something that important is usually transported by planes with armed guards. We didn't want to draw any attention to it."

"Then you should have put it on an empty train then, at the very least," said Raven.

"Yeah and done a better job at keeping it a secret," Beast Boy added. "That dude totally knew exactly what was going on. So one of your people must've blabbed to somebody."

"I promise that the incident is being investigated," said the man. "We've learned our lesson."

"Yes and you've learned it almost at the cost of not only our lives but the lives of your train crew," said Raven. "I hope that in the future you won't make such poor decisions."

"We won't, I swear," he said. "And, as an apology, the company would like to offer you free lifetime passes."

"Thanks but I'm done with trains," said Raven. "For good."

"Yeah me too," said Beast Boy. "I'd rather fly across the country in the form of a hummingbird than get on another train."

After leaving the train station they checked into a hotel so they could bathe, eat, and take a nap. Raven was very exhausted after using so much of her healing powers, flying for an hour straight, and doing it all on no sleep and no food. She took a long bath, ate a large meal, and then passed out. Beast Boy followed the same pattern only taking his turns after her. After all he'd put her through and how she was still letting him make good on his bet he felt he didn't deserve to even share the same room as her. She was far too good to him. Then again, she may only be doing this to give him a false sense of security so that when she did unleash her wrath it would be that much more brutal. Whatever her plan was he decided it was best if he didn't think about it and just accept the circumstance as it was.

The concert was in six hours.


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 16

The streets were chaotic with people and traffic. It seemed as if everyone was heading towards the performance arena, where the Fiona Star concert was taking place. Raven couldn't believe there was someone so popular she'd never heard of but, then again, she wasn't exactly knowledgeable about mainstream things. Beast Boy was feeling anxious about what he was about to do and wondered how they were going to get in. Sneaking in was easy enough, now that they had their powers back, but once inside he was sure people would notice a green teen walking around. Blending in wasn't exactly one of his strong suits, outside of being a chameleon.

Once they reached the arena they parted from the large crowd and went to find one of the less populated areas. They made their way to the far back where they saw various tour busses parked and men unloading props off of trucks. When no one was looking Raven wrapped the two of them in her dark energy and they silently melted through the outside wall and soon appeared inside. There were people all with nametags and special jobs that were running around, making sure everything that needed to get done was getting done. They did their best to keep out of sight, hiding behind corners and moving when people's backs were turned.

"How are we gonna find her?" he whispered as they darted about.

"I'm guessing there's going to be a door that has her name on it. Chances are that'll be her dressing room," she said.

"What're we gonna do if she freaks out and calls for security?" he asked, which was a good question.

"Then we'll get out of here and think of something else," she said. "Now be quiet and keep mov-oh, never mind."

"What?" he asked, confused.

She pointed and he looked to see a door with a large laminated sign that read 'Fiona Star'. It had to be her dressing room! They waited until no one was looking then ran to it. Raven quickly knocked on the door and the two waited anxiously for it to open, hoping no one was going to notice how out of place they were.

"Yeah?" came a peppy voice as the door opened. There stood a young woman, not much older than them, with cotton candy pink hair and a star shaped nose piercing.

"Uh, hi," Beast Boy squeaked. He was both terrified and full of excitement at meeting one of his favorite pop stars. "Now don't freak out but-"

That was as far as he'd got when she began to scream at the top of her lungs and jump up and down. Raven covered her ears and watched as everyone in the nearby area turned and looked right at them. She was about to grab Beast Boy and make a run for it when she felt her body being crushed in almost a Starfire worthy hug, squishing her and Beast Boy together.

"Are you serious?!" she screamed once she released them. "I don't believe you guys are here! How'd you get here? You guys don't even live around here, you're from Jump City! Did my manager call you up? Was it Arnold? Or Missy?"

"Uh we were just in the area," said Beast Boy, confused but doing his best to play along. "So…you know who we are?"

"Uh, duh!" she laughed. "Who doesn't know who Beast Boy and Raven are? Oh my God, I am, like, you're biggest fan! I swear, ask anyone, I'm totally obsessed with the Teen Titans. Oh! Look at this!" She ran over to one of her bags and pulled out a worn out tee-shirt that had a picture of the Titans Tower on it. "I wear this thing to bed every night. My boyfriend got it for me, like, a year ago and I haven't gone a night without wearing it."

"Wow, she's a seriously dedicated fan," Raven said aside to Beast Boy.

"I think we just lucked out," he replied.

"Oh my God, can I get your autographs?!" she suddenly shrieked and grabbed her autograph book from her things. "I never thought I'd actually get to meet any of the Titans, let alone the two of you!"

"Of course, no problem," Beast Boy smiled, turning on the charm. "Hey, how would you like to help out a Teen Titan?"

She gasped and squealed. "Of course, of course! Anything I can do for you guys would be, like a dream!"

Beast Boy then explained the bet he'd made, though he left out that Aqualad had anything to do with it for fear that she was more of a fan of his, and how he needed to be seen onstage and singing _Riding on Sparks_ with her. Fiona was more than happy to help her favorite heroes.

"Are you kidding? I get to sing a duet with freaking Beast Boy? How can I say no?" she laughed. "Let me go tell my people so they can set everything up. You two chill out and I'll be right back. Oh my God, this is so exciting!" And with that she was running out the door, screaming for various people.

"Well…that couldn't have gone any better," said Raven, quite shocked.

"I know, right?" Beast Boy laughed. "This is almost too good to be true."

"Now you just have to get up there in front of millions of people and sing," said Raven, sitting down on the very lovely couch that was in the room.

He'd forgotten all about that. "Oh…right."

"You can sing, can't you?" she asked, grabbing a magazine then throwing it away once she saw its contents.

"Uh, yeah, kinda I guess," he gulped. "Oh man, Raven, I totally forgot that I was gonna sing in front of a million people!"

"Millions," she corrected, though that didn't help in the least. "And you better get used to the idea because you're not backing out now."

He groaned and took a seat, placing his head in his hands. "I know you're right but…"

"Oh relax," Raven sighed. "You've done karaoke before."

"Yeah but not in front of millions of people!" he said. "And the words aren't gonna be on a screen for me to read. What if I choke and make a fool out of myself?"

"You're a natural showman," she said honestly. "Once you get up there and hear all those people cheering for you I'm sure you'll forget any fears you have."

"I hope so," he said, still feel sick.

Everything was soon set up with the crew running the show and Beast Boy was written into their notes. As the minutes ticked down and they began to do sound checks the changeling was doing his best to keep the lovely lunch he'd helped himself to in his stomach. Raven was lounging and enjoying the perks of being a pop star. Fiona was gushing about having two Titans in her dressing room and begged them to tell her stories about their recent missions. They obliged, it was the least they could do since she was doing them such a favor, and told her the best stories they could. Of course Beast Boy made them far more dramatic than they were, according to Raven, but Fiona certainly didn't catch on. She just sat with side eyes until her choreographer finally dragged her out to do some warm ups.

Before they knew it the time had come and the concert began. Raven and Beast Boy were allowed to sit backstage and watch from the wings. The sound of the crowd was deafening when the pop star descended from the above on wires, singing her first big hit. There were cameras all about and they moved all around the stage and her as she performed. Soon all sorts of erroneous props littered the stage. They might not have made sense, considering the contexts of the songs, but when they exploded into different colored flames and showered the audience with gummy candies no one seemed to care if none of it made sense. Even Raven had to admit it was entertaining, though still pointless.

A half hour in the two were led away to get ready for his grand entrance, which Raven was helping with. He was very nervous, she had never seen him sweat so much, but knew he had to do this. After all he'd gone through and after all he'd put her through he couldn't chicken out now. So he put on a brave face and got ready for his duet.

* * *

The Titans sat in the common room, Cyborg's entertainment system making them feel as though they really were at the concert three thousand miles away. Starfire had put on a pink wig and dressed up in an outfit that looked very similar to one of Fiona Star's costumes. The men were trying to hide how much they were enjoying themselves but they really were in awe of the performance they were watching. The fact that the pop star was in very revealing clothing helped, too.

"Oh I wish I was there," Starfire sighed. "To see such a glorious display of song and dance in person would be most enjoyable."

"Well if she ever comes to Jump City I'll take you," Robin assured her.

"Who needs to go and spend all that money when you can get the same experience right here in our living room?" asked Cyborg.

"Not exactly the same," said Aqualad. "Install a gummy candy cannon in the TV then we'll talk."

"That can be arranged," Cyborg smirked.

"No it can't," Robin said firmly.

"Aw come on, you never let me make fun things," Cyborg pouted.

"Yes I have and I've also seen the mess they make," said Robin. "Who do you think has to pay to have the carpet and walls cleaned each time you make something 'fun'?"

"Oh you're such a party pooper," Cyborg rolled his eyes.

Their attention was taken away from the conversation when they heard the audience in the television cheer as Fiona finished another song.

"Phew! I am in need of a break, people," Fiona said to the crowd, wiping her forehead with a ready towel. "I think it's about time we slowed things down a little bit, what do you say?"

The crowd cheered in response.

"Well," she said, sitting down on a flamboyant chair, "for my next song I'm going to need a little help." The audience began to stir with excitement. "So I'm going to need someone to sing with. But I don't want just anyone. I want someone so totally awesome that they'll make this concert the best one in history!"

Even in the Titans Tower the sound of the crowd rattled the speakers so that the whole building shook.

"But I don't know who could possibly be that great," she said with a fake pout. "Maybe I should wish on a star. But I can't see any stars with all of these lights. Oh, wait a second, I'm a star! Maybe I should just make a wish on me!" She posed cutely and winked at the crowd, causing them to scream even more. She held out her hand and suddenly there was a mirror in it. She looked into it and said, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, grant the wish I wish tonight. I wish for the most amazing guy in the world to sing _Riding on Sparks_ with me!"

Suddenly a large dark energy swirling orb appeared and out of it stepped Beast Boy, looking as cool as possible. The crowd went insane.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's my BFF Beast Boy of the Teen Titans!" Fiona screamed, genuinely excited he was on the stage with her.

"Beast Boy?!" everyone in the tower seemed to shout at once.

"Hello Empire City!" Beast Boy shouted to the crowd. "And a special hello to all of you lovely dudes and dudettes at home. Especially my Titans family." He winked right into the camera.

"You've gotta be kidding me," said Robin.

"BFF? Did Fiona Star just say that BB is her BFF?!" Cyborg said, very confused.

"Cyborg, quickly, ready the recording mechanism!" Starfire shouted excitedly. "We must document our friend!" She began to grab all of the remotes and look for the right buttons to push.

Aqualad's jaw hung open as he watched the green Titan move around the stage. With Fiona Star. Who she'd just called her BFF. And once the shock wore off he could do nothing but smile and shake his head. "I've got to hand it to him. He sure knows how to win a bet."

"So, Beast Boy, you ready to do some singing?" Fiona asked her duet partner, wrapping her arm around his and batting her eyes.

"Definitely," he smiled. "And, if you don't mind, I'd like to dedicate this song to a certain special someone."

"Aw how cute!" Fiona gushed. "You go right ahead, BB."

He smiled then turned to look into the wings of the stage. He pointed towards them and said, "Pollywog, this one's for you."


	17. Chapter 17

_**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. Please refrain from reviewing until the end of the story. Thank you.**_

Chapter 17

After the concert the two were invited to go out with Fiona to party a bit but both declined. They were still tired and had gone partially deaf due to the crowd and the sound system. Having accomplished what he'd set out to do, Beast Boy felt incredibly relieved and at peace with himself. Now he was ready to accept any punishment Raven was going to give him. But she had nothing in mind for that night or anytime soon. She wanted to really think about a fitting consequence for his actions. So they went back to their hotel and went straight to bed.

The two slept until nearly noon and still felt like they could sleep for another day. But they were excited to finally be going home so they packed what little they had and headed for the airport. But, upon arriving, Beast Boy informed Raven that they didn't need to purchase any tickets.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, instantly suspicious. "What have you done now?"

"Relax, it's nothing bad!" he laughed. "I made arrangements yesterday with Fiona's help."

"Fiona? We're on a first name basis with her now, are we?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey she's the one who said we're BFFs," he smirked. "Now come on, we've got a flight to catch."

"Oh no, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what's happening," she said crossing her arms.

"You're about to have the best flight of your life," he smiled. "And I know I don't deserve your trust right now but you're gonna have an amazing time if you just trust me for the next few minutes."

She stared at him and he could see deep in her eyes that she was mulling it all over and feeling him out. "You don't seem to be lying. And you are nervous but it's more out of excitement than guilt. So I'm going to let you handle the tickets. But just know that I do have my powers now and the moment I sense that something's not right I will kill you and I will make it look like an accident."

The changeling gulped but knew he was safe. There wasn't a chance she would be disagreeable with the surprise he had waiting for her. "Fair enough." He grabbed her bag and led her through the airport.

They got their prepared tickets, got checked out with security, and headed towards their terminal. But they weren't going to where everyone else was. They went to another area of the airport entirely. Raven was quite confused when they came to a door and, after having their tickets checked, were let through it. They were outside and walking down onto the tarmac where a small plane was sitting.

"Is that a private plane?" she asked.

"Maybe," he smirked.

They walked up the steps placed in front of the plane and Beast Boy went inside first, helping Raven in. As soon as she was inside she looked around and saw a woman already sitting inside. She looked kindly and professional and she smiled when she saw the teens. Raven was very perplexed.

"Raven, I'd like you to meet Melita Funar," said Beast Boy.

The empath's eyes went wide and she slowly looked at the woman again. She grabbed her bag back from Beast Boy and reached inside to grab one of her books. She flipped it open to look at the sleeve where the author's small biography and picture was. It was the same woman. Raven's knees buckled and Beast Boy quickly grabbed her to keep her from collapsing. "It is Melita Funar."

The woman nodded and stood up, holding her hand out to her. "Îmi pare bine." Beast Boy couldn't understand her but Raven knew very well that the woman had just said it was nice to meet them.

"E foarte frumos să te cunosc," said Raven, returning the gesture. "Sunt un mare fan al muncii dumneavoastră. Tu ești autorul meu preferat."

"Va multumesc foarte mult," the woman smiled. She then reached into her carry on and presented Raven with four hard cover signed first editions of each volume of the _Ashen Splendor_ series. The teen nearly cried.

While the two began to converse in Romanian Beast Boy settled into his seat and got ready for a nonstop ride back to Jump City. After the concert the night before, he'd taken Fiona Star aside and asked for her help on one last thing. With her assistance they'd contacted Melita Funar's people and managed to talk the author into delaying her trip and making a detour to Empire City and then flying to Jump City. Ms. Funar, who was only visiting the country once due to her fear of being in a new country, had actually been enjoying her stay and was happy to extend her visit so that she could get to see more of the country.

The changeling slept a little bit but was woken up when Raven came to sit next to him. He was surprised by this for though it was a small plane there were enough seats for each person to have their own row. She was in a very good mood, looking almost light with euphoria, and that made him happy.

"How did you set this up?" she asked. "She wouldn't tell me and I've got to know."

"Nope, you're just gonna have to always wonder," he smirked and stretched.

"Fine but at least answer me this so that I can sleep at night," she said. "You didn't bribe anyone or do anything illegal, did you?"

"No!" he laughed. "This was all legit."

She seemed relieved to know this and sat back in her seat. "I still can't believe I just had a two hour conversation with Melita Funar."

"Why'd you stop talking?" he asked.

"I think I was overwhelming her so I decided to give us both a break," she admitted. "She's so kind and smart. She said I understood everything perfectly and that it was as if I was reading her mind."

"Wow, guess you've got a new BFF too," he chuckled.

"Speaking of, are you going to keep in touch with Ms. Star?" she asked.

"No way, she's too dense for even me," he said. "I asked her if she knew which state Jump City was in and she said she couldn't because she failed Geometry in school."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh I'm way serious. Even I know it's Geology."

"Geography."

"Oh…well I was closer than her."

Apart from some turbulence at the end, the flight went smoothly. They landed at the Jump City airport and both felt extremely grateful to be home. Raven thanked her favorite author a dozen times for the conversation and books and was even invited to visit her in Romania whenever she wanted. Beast Boy wasn't sure he'd ever seen her so gleeful. She was practically dancing as they left the plane and went to find Cyborg, who'd driven to the airport to pick them up. When they spotted him both ran to him and practically jumped into his arms.

"Whoa! Happy to be home?" he laughed.

"You have _no_ idea," said Raven.

"I never wanna leave the city again," said Beast Boy.

"I doubt Robin will ever let you two out of his sight after all of this," Cyborg laughed. "It seemed like every time you called something bad happened."

"That's because it did," said Raven. "But it had a happy ending so I'm pretty content."

Cyborg gave her an odd look. "Uh…you okay there, Raven?"

"Oh I'm better than okay," she said cheerfully and walked by him to head outside.

"B, what did you do to her?" Cyborg asked his best friend, actually concerned.

Beast Boy laughed. "Don't question it, just soak in the moment. It probably won't last very long."

They were soon on the road and when the tower came into view the two homesick Titans felt like crying. Upon pulling into the garage Beast Boy jumped out and began to kiss the floor, an action he quickly regretted. They took the elevator up and as the doors began to open a pair of orange arms reached in and grabbed the changeling and empath.

"Friends you are home!" Starfire cried. "Oh I have missed you so very much and shed many tears when I did not know where you were or what horrible event had occurred after the last. Please do not partake in such a journey again."

"Don't worry, we're not going anywhere any time soon," Raven assured her as she and Beast Boy wriggled out of her grasp.

"Welcome back," said Robin. "I didn't think I'd get to see you two again in one piece."

"Neither did we, dude," said Beast Boy.

"So, Beast Boy," said Aqualad, crossing his arms, "you certainly gave quite the performance last night."

"Yeah, what was _that_ about?!" said Cyborg. "Since when are you and Fiona Star buddies?"

"Uh, well, you see…" Beast Boy began, rubbing his arm and preparing to reveal the truth. But, to his surprise, Raven nudged his arm.

"Did you think he didn't have friends outside of the tower?" she said. "Not only are he and Fiona Star friends but she's one of his biggest fans."

Aqualad suddenly found himself confused and wondering if Beast Boy had been telling the truth all along. After all, why would Raven lie for him? And then he realized he had his end of a bet to keep and he grew very depressed. Wearing Starfire's uniform for a month was not going to be fun. Speedy would never let him live this down and Bumblebee…he didn't want to think about how bad she was going to give it to him.

Beast Boy wished he had a camera so that he could immortalize the look on Aqualad's face. It was far sweeter than he ever could imagine. But he knew he couldn't in good conscience let the bet stand. So he took him aside and told him it was off.

"You're serious? But I lost," said Aqualad. "I thought you wanted nothing more than to have me walking around in Starfire's uniform."

"Oh I still think it'd be hilarious," said Beast Boy. "But I'm gonna be the bigger man and call the whole thing off. I'd hope that you'd do the same for me if you won the bet."

"To be honest I never planned on taking your spot on the team," Aqualad admitted. "I just thought it was as high enough risk that would make you tell me the truth. But turns out you and Fiona Star are friends so I was the one making the bad call."

"So…even if lost I wouldn't have had to go to Titans East?" Beast Boy squeaked.

"No way, I like my team," Aqualad smiled. "And I know how much you like yours."

The changeling felt very angry, with both Aqualad and himself, and almost considered making the Atlantian wear Starfire's uniform. But in the end he decided to just walk away before he got himself into trouble again. Instead he went to find Raven to talk and give her something he'd been keeping in his pocket since early that morning.

He found her in her room, sprawled on her bed with the door open. He guessed she was so happy to be home she just didn't care. He knocked on the doorframe. "Raven can I have a sec?"

"You just had a week of my life, what more do you want?" she asked.

"I just wanna know why you covered for me back there," he said. "I thought you wanted me to be honest about everything."

She sighed, got up, and walked over to him. "Well I did. But after thinking about everything I've decided that we should keep your big lie between us. The story of our trip is good enough without adding into it that you were doing all of this to win a stupid bet. So let's just let everyone believe what they believe. Besides, what I said wasn't exactly a lie. You and Fiona are friends, now at least, and she is a huge fan of yours."

"So…we're really not gonna tell anyone the truth?" he asked.

"Not the whole truth, no," she said. "We're going to keep it between us. I think that'll simplify everything and keep Robin from disciplining your butt to high heaven. Though he is going to punish you for sneaking out in the first place. And that's something you definitely can't argue with."

"Speaking of punishment…what are you gonna do to me?" he winced. "I'd kinda like to know now what you've got in mind."

"I don't have anything in mind," she said frankly. "After what you pulled off for me today I think I'm at peace with everything."

He just stared at her. "So…wait, what?"

"Beast Boy, if you hadn't snuck in my bag and ruined my vacation then I would have never gotten to spend a plane ride talking to my favorite author one on one," she explained. "Today was far better than five days of visiting special shops and getting a book signed. For better or worse this was definitely a vacation I will never forget. So I say we cut our losses and move on with our lives."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was letting him off the hook! But he didn't feel as though he was off the hook. He'd certainly learned his lesson, that was for sure, and would never lie to her again or make any crazy bets because of his big mouth. And she was right. In the end it had all worked out.

"Wow, thanks Raven," he said. "If you ever wanna vent and take your frustration out on someone you have every right to use me as your whipping boy."

"Oh I plan to," she assured him.

He smiled and reached into his pocket. "I don't know if you still want this but I grabbed it after you threw it at me." He held out the necklace with the snowflake obsidian gemstone.

She stared at it for a moment then sighed and reached out for it. "Believe it or not, I do still like it." She put it back around her neck and hid it beneath her shirt. "It'll remind me of that great day we had in that small town. The day you put me first."

"Yeah that was a good day, wasn't it?"

"Second only to today. Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome, Pollywog."

She growled and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Beast Boy." He gulped and prepared for the long awaited thrashing she was sure to give him now. Instead she was quiet for a moment before hissing, "Don't call me that in front of anyone else, got it?" And with that she released him and closed her door.

He stood there for a moment, perplexed, then smiled a wide smile.

"Anything for you, Pollywog."

**The End**

**! IF YOU ENJOYED THEN PLEASE REVIEW !**

**Special thanks to saphire-queen and bunnimunchies**

**AN: Well there it is! My first TT fanfic in five years. I know it wasn't my best work, I'm still a little rusty, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I'm so glad I finally wrote this story. It's been in my head for years! I think this is my first strictly BBxRae friendship fic. But I think you can see that this may be a prologue to something more between them. Hope you liked it! If you want to keep up to date with me and my writing then follow me on tumblr. There you'll know where I am in the writing process and can ask me any question you want! beautifulpurpleflame . tumblr. com**


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